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JUL  2  81958 


THE 


tam#-%lk<[tmf8  JftagMiut* 


ILLUSTRATED. 


YOL.    X, 


LONDON : 
E.  ^MARLBOROUGH   &   CO.,   4,   AYE   MARIA  LANE,   &   14,  WARWICK   LANE. 

BATH: 
ALFRED    SMITH  &   CO.,    6,   BATH   STREET. 

MDCCCLXXII. 


SURPLUS 


DUPLICAT£ 


EX    TO    YOL,    X. 


***  Where  only  name  of  country  is  given,  its  stamps  are  intended  to  be  indicated.    The  addition  of  an  asterisk  after  a  number  signifies  that 

there  is  an  engraving  en  the  page  referred  to. 


Alaska  (Behring's  Straits),  155 

Aleksandrowsk  (Russia),  185* 

Alsace  and  Lorraine,  129 

Angola,  11 

Answers  to  Correspondents,  16,  32,  80,  96,  144,  176,  192 

Argentine  Republic,  138,  186 

Augsburg,  21 

Austria,  9,  11,  15,  20,  44,  125,  146,  171,  172,*  187 

Austrian  Italy,  48 

Azores,  124 

Bavaria,  21,*  37 

Belozersk  (Eussia),  8,*  79,  153 

Berdiansk  (Russia),  8,*  79 

Bermuda,  172 

Bogorodsk  (Russia),  19,  79,  104,*  120,  185 

Boguchar  (Russia),  169* 

Bohemia,  20 

Bolivia,  4,  14,  47 

Borovitchi  (Russia),  79,  104* 

Brazil,  19,  118 

British  Columbia,  45 

British  Honduras,  76,  172 

British  Packet  Agencies,  132 

Bronnitzi  (Russia),  103,*  120 

Brunswick,  1,*  76 

Cabinet,  The  Black,  90 

California,  33,  126,  148  * 

Canada,  21,  60,  76 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  76,  125 

Cashmere,  11,  124 

Ceylon,  11,  21,  41,*  59,*  75,*  104,  142,  179 

Charkoff  (Russia),  19,*  64,  185 

Cherson  (Russia),  8,*  103* 

Chili,  3,*  41,*  60,  64,  79,  89,*  129,  143,  169* 

City  Delivery  Posts  of  San  Francisco,  148  * 

Commune  of  Paris,  32,  60 

Confederate  States,  19,*  39,  65,  67,  112,  116,  128,  143,  159, 
190 

Constantinople,  59 

Contemporaries  (Our),  37,  65,  99,  115,  129,  145,  161 

Correspondence,  14, 31, 47, 64, 79, 95, 1 1 1, 128, 142, 158, 192 ; 
Transvaal  envelope  and  Germanic  cards,  14;  Ecuador 
and  Bolivian  varieties,  14;  Boyd's  Express  stamps,  15; 
doubtful  errors  in  impression,  15 ;  the  arrangement 
of  a  collection,  15 ;  a  query  respecting  a  20  centime 
of  the  present  French,  16 ;  more  varieties  of  the  pro- 
visional Natals,  16  ;  postal  telegraph  cards,  31 ;  Rus- 
sian locals — Valdai,  32 ;  English  official  stamps  and 
inverted  watermarks,  47 ;  Bolivian  essays,  47  ;  Eng- 
lish official  stamps — Irish  oddities,  47  ;  another  odd 
postmark — the  Haitian  impostor — the  Lombardo- 
Venetian  reprints,  1861,  48;  the  surcharged  inscrip- 
tion on  the  Charkoff  local,  64  ;  the  provisional  5  c. 
stamps  of  Chili,  64 ;  the  inscription  on  the  Deccan 
stamps,  64  ;  the  Prussian  siege  of  Paris,  79  ;  the  new 
Chilian  postage  stamps,  &c,  79  ;  Russian  local  stamps 
— Helsingfors,  &c,  79 ;  the  album  question,  79  ;  the 
Suez  Canal  stamps,  95 ;  the  Russian  locals  and  Fin- 


Correspondence  continued  :— 

nish  stamps,  95  ;  an  American  collector  on  the  recent 
auction  sale,  95 ;  German  money-order  cards  and 
envelopes,  95 ;  stamp  cataloguing,  96 ;  the  sur- 
charged Mexican  stamps,  111,  158;  New  Granada, 
1859,  1860,  and  1861  stamps,  111;  the  post  cards  of 
the  Rotterdam  General  Service  Company,  112 ;  the 
Petersburg  stamp,  112;  the  Sicilian  stamps,  with 
head  of  Ferdinand  II.,  128  ;  the  recent  postage  stamp 
auction,  128 ;  the  Petersburg  stamp,  128 ;  the  Cin- 
galese currency,  142 ;  the  "penny  post"  marks, 
143  ;  the  Chilian  envelopes  and  post  cards,  143  ;  the 
Petersburg  and  Pleasant  Shade  stamps — Mr.  Coster's 
reply  to  Mr.  Pemberton,  143;  further  reply  of  Mr. 
Coster,  159  ;  what  is  a  postage  stamp  ?  158  ;  another 
variety  of  the  threepence  Natal,  192  ;  the  T.  15. 
Morton  postage  stamps,  192 

Cuba,  42,*  72,  102,  122,*  161,  185* 

Cundinamarca,  136* 

Danish  West  Indies,  11 

Danubian  Principalities,  10,21,*  53, 68,*  83,*  90,  106, 154, 

155,  171,*  174,  184  * 
Dealers  in  Forgeries,  4,  183 
Deccan,  59,  64,  108 
Demiansk  (Russia),  168* 
Denmark,  105,  113,*  147,  171  * 
Drontheim  (Norway),  74,*  90 
Dutch  West  Indies,  171 
Ecuador,  14,  129,  154,  171 
Egorieff  (Russia),  58,  169 
Egypt,  20,  42,*  66 
Elizavetgrad  (Russia),  120,*  185  * 
Engraving  and  Printing  of  Postage  Stamps  (The),  56 
Envelopes,  Plan  for  Mounting,  25  * 
Events  of  the  Year  :  a  Desultory  Review,  177 
Falkland  Islands,  125,  146 
Fatejh  (Russia),  153  * 
Fiji  and  the  Fijians,  26 

Fiji  Islands,  10,  14,  17,*  26,  38,  76,  125,  132,  141 
Fiji  Islands  (The)  in  search  of  a  Protector,  141 
Finland,  9,  44,  79,  95,  118,  156,  170 
Forgeries,  4,  31,  39,  67,  78,  118,  120, 129, 138,  148, 180,  183 
France,  7,  11,  13,  15,  16,  32,  48,  59,  60,  67,  74,  79,  87,  88, 

90,  120,  165,*  171,  186,  189* 
French  Colonies,  137,  147 
Geneva,  146 

Germany,  6,*  14, 15, 20,43,  95, 106, 118, 123,*  130,  138, 1S6 
Goa  (Portuguese  Indies),  73,*  89,  104,  153 
Gordian  Knot  (The)  of  Stamp  Collecting,  81 
Great  Britain,  10,  15,  31,  32,  40,*  47,  48,  60,  73,*  80,  87, 

97,  109,  131,  135,*  143,  170* 
Guadalajara,  137 
Guatemala,  184* 

Haiti,  12,  48 

Haitian  25  c.  Stamp  (The)  reconsidered,  12,  48 

Hamburg,  118 

Heligoland,  11 


IV 


INDEX. 


Helsingfors,  79 

Holland,  11,  89,  106,  112,  121* 

Holte  (Denmark),  115,*  171  * 

Honduras,  129 

Hungary,  9,  45,  60,  90,  187 

India,  11,  59,  64,  80,  108,  124 

Italy,  43,  66 

Jamaica,  170,*  187 

Japan,  7,*  63,  65,  94,  10L,  124,  138,  152,*  171,  174 

Japanese  Currency,  The  New,  174 

Japanese  (A)  State  Paper,  63,  101 

Keble  College  Stamp,  10 

Kolomna  (Russia),  104,*  120,  169 

Livni  (Russia),  58  * 

Livonia,  137,  153* 

Lornbardy-Yenetia,  48 

Luxemburg,  11,  21,  52,  186 

Luxemburg  Stamps,  Printing  of  the,  52 

Madeira,  124 

Maderanerthal  (Switzerland),  18* 

Madison  (Florida),  65 

Mauritius,  155,  170,*  187 

Melitopol  (Russia),  169  * 

Mexico,  11,  88,*  99,  102,  111,  125,  137,  155,  158 

Moldavia,  21,*  53,  68,*  154,  174 

Moldavia,  Notes  on  the  early  issues  of,  174 

Montevideo,  10,  60 

Morton,  T.  B.  &  Co.,  45,*  58,  66,  102 

Mozambique,  124 

Natal,  10,  16,  187,  192 

New  Brunswick,  148 

New  Granada,  4,  11,  75,*  89,*  111,  119,  136,*  161,^187* 

Newly-issued  or  Inedited  Stamps,  5,  17,  39,  57,  72,  87, 

102,  120,  136,  152,  168 
New  Orleans,  116 

New  South  Wales,  32,  75,*  154,*  171,  187 
New  Zealand,  21,  172 
Nicaragua,  5 

Norway,  21,  44,*  59,  74,*  90 
Xotes  for  Collectors,  97;  Austria,  125,  172* 
Notes  on  South  American  Stamps,  3  * 
Notes  on  the  early  Stamps  of  Moldavia,  174 
Notes  on  the  Locals  of  California  and  the  Western  States 

of  America,  33,  126 
Notes  on  the  United  States  Locals,  28,  92,  164  * 
Nova  Scotia,  157 
Occasional  Notes,  108,  157 
Odontometer  (The),  110 
Oldenburg,  120 
Orange  Free  State,  109,  156 

Packet  Agencies,  British,  132 

Papers  for  Beginners — Brunswick,  1*  ;  Moldavia,  21,*  53, 

68;*    Roumania,  83;*    Denmark,  113;*    France, 

165,*  189  * 
Paris,  Commune  of,  32,  60 
Pavlograd  (Russia),  136* 
Peerjatin  (Russia),  136 
Penny  Express  Company  Stamp,  135  * 
Perejaslav  (Russia),  136* 
Persia,  170,*  180,  186 
Peru,  4 

Petersburg  (Virginia),  67,  112,  128,  143,  159 
Philatelic  Society  (The),  109,  129,  179 
Philalelical  Congress,  131,  179 
Philippines,  72,  109,  122,*  134,  137,  155,  161 
Pleasant  Shade  (The)  Post-office,  190 
Pleasant  Shade  (Virginia),  19,*  128,  143,  190 
Poisoned  Postage  Stamp  (The),  156 


Porto  Rico,  10 

Portugal,  88 

Portuguese  Indies,  73,*  89,  104,  153,  180 

Post-office  (The)  as  a  Profession,  187 

Post-office  (The)  Pavilion  of  the  Moscow  Retrospective 

Exhibition,  180 
Postage  Stamps  at  Auction,  49,  128 
Postal  Chit-chat,  13,  94 
Postal  Spheres,  11 

Prince  Edward  Island,  57,*  75*  105*  124,*  138,  155, 180 
Prussia,  122 
Prussian  Siege  of  Paris  (The),  87 

Reviews  of  Postal  Publications,  30,  77,  110,  141,  157 

Rheatown  (Tennessee),  19* 

Riasin  (Russia),  153,  169 

Rigi-Scheideck  (Switzerland),  172 

Rjeff  (Russia),  120,*  185  * 

Roman  States,  11,  96 

Roumania,  10,  83,*  90,*  106,  155,  171,*  184* 

Russia,  8,*  19,*  20,  32,  58,*  64,  75,  79,  95,  103*  120  * 

136,*  153,*  168,*  180,  181,  184* 
Kussian  Locals,  8,*  19,*  32,  58,*  64,  79,  95,  103  *  120* 

136,*  153,*  168,*  180,  184* 

St.  Domingo,  13,  106* 

St.  Thomas,  11 

St.  Thomas  and  Prince,  106 

Sandwich  Islands,  76,  101,  108,  147 

San  Francisco,  The  City  Delivery  Posts  of,  148  * 

Schluesselburg  (Russia),  136,  169 

Servia,  11,  156 

Shanghai,  11,  116 

Sicily,  128 

Sierra  Leone,  21,  87,  104,*  179 

Soummy  (Russia),  58,  79,  153 

South  African  Republic,  14,  39,  76,  106,  119 

South  American  Stamps,  Notes  on,  3 

South  Australia,  172 

Spain,  21,  37,  66,  67,  72,  80,  106,  110,  122,*  129,  152,. 

158,  161,  168,*  187 
Spanish  Colonies,  10,  21,  42,*  72,  102,  109,  122*  134,  137, 

155,  161,  185* 
Straits  Settlements,  187 
Strange — if  true,  60 
Suez  Canal,  95 
Sweden,  19,*  123,*  138,  155 
Switzerland,  11,  18,*  172 

Tamboff  (Russia),  58,*  79 

Tasmania,  45 

Tolima,  1],  89,*  119 

Transvaal  Republic,  14,  39,  76,  106,  119 

Trinidad,  68,  156,  187 

Tschongonief  (Russia),  120 

Turkey,  45,*  58,  59,  66,  102,  192 

Turkish  Locals,  45,*  58,  59,  66,  102,  192 

United  States  of  America,  5,*  15,  28,  33,*  43,*  49,  75, 92, 
106, 117, 121,*  126, 135,*  148,*  155,  163, 164,*  171,  176 

United  States  Locals,  15,  28,  33,  49,  92,  126,  135*  148* 
164,*  176 

United  States  of  Columbia,  4,  11,  75  *  89  *  111.  119,  136* 
161,  187* 

Uruguay,  10,  60 

Valdai  (Russia),  8,*  32,  79,  95 
Venezuela,  18,*  44,  129 

Western  Australia,  18,*  60,  179 
West  Town  Local  (The),  U.  S.,  176 
What  are  they  worth?  76 
What  is  a  Postage  Stamp  ?  139,  158,  181 
Wurtemburg,  105,  124,  148,  161,  187 


STAMP-COLLECTORS    MAGAZINE. 


PAPERS  FOR  BEGINNERS.— No.  XVI. 

BY  OVEKY  TAYLOR. 

EUROPE. 

ghmttritfK 

The  Brunswick  stamps  offer  absolutely  no 
difficulty  to  the  collector,  not  even  that  of 
price,  for  the  rarest*  can  be  obtained  for  a 
couple  of  shillings,  and  their  history  is  devoid 
of  any    obscurity ;    the   present   paper    can 
therefore  hardly   claim  to  be  more  than  a 
catalogue  of  the  various  issues. 

Everyone   knows   the    Brunswick    horse, 
_________   the    graceful     and    all   but 

^^^^^^1  unique  device  of  the  Bruns- 
wick stamps — all  but  unique, 
for  the  crown  on  the  j  gr. 
quartett  alone  prevents  it 
from  being  entirely  so. 
Simple  and  neat  is  the  sole 
commendation  which  the  type  requires. 
The  earlier  issue  appeared  on  the  1st 
January,  1852,  and  continued  through  differ- 
ent editions  of  colour,  paper,  &c,  down  to 
18G5,  when  it  gave  place  to  the  second  series, 
which  remained  in  service  until  the  Bruns- 
wick postal  department  was  merged  in  that 
of  the  North  German  Confederation. 

The  first  three  stamps  were  the  1  sgr.  rose, 
2  sgr.  blue,  and  3  sgr.  red.  They  are  printed 
on  white  paper,  and  are  devoid  of  watermark. 
Their  circulation  lasted  only  fourteen  months ; 
hence,  as  compared  with  subsequent  emis- 
sions,  they  are  rare.     The  second  edition, 

*  [We  think  our  contributor's  remarks  must  be  under- 
stood to  apply  to  cancelled  copies  only ;  for  we  believe  that 
scarcely  one  collection  known  can  boast  of  an  unused  series 
of  the  1,  2,  and  3  sgr.  of  the  first  issue.  In  the  most 
famous  and  complete  Continental,  as  well  as  British, 
collections,  we  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  an  entire 
series ;  at  best,  one  value  was  in  the  condition  denominated 
by  our  French  friends — "passant  pour  neuf."  It  is  the 
1  sgr.  which  is  so  rare  unused. — Ed  ] 


which  came  out  in  March,  1853,  is  in  black 
on  coloured  paper, — the  coloured  impression 
having  probably  been  found  hardly  sufficiently 
prononcee — and  the  values  are  : — 

1  sgr.  orange,  yellow,  and  nankin-yellow. 

2  ,,     dark  blue. 

3  „     rose. 

To  these  were  added,  in  March,  1856,  two 
low-value  stamps  for  printed  matter, — the 
J  sgr.  brown  and  J  sgr.  white.  All  five 
stamps  are  watermarked  with  a  post-horn. 

In  February,  1857,  the  post-office,  appa- 
rently thinking  that  the  oblong  j  sgr.  was  too 
much  for  the  money,  in- 
troduced the  economical 
and  peculiar  postal  coupon 
here  represented,  of  which 
each  quarter,  or  any  two  or 
three,  may  be  used  separ- 
ately. It  was  printed  in 
black  on  thickly  gummed 
paper  watermarked  with  a  post-horn,  and 
continued  in  use  until  the  extinction  of  the 
Brunswick  post-office ;  but  had  that  office 
continued  a  little  longer  in  existence  this 
stamp  would  have  been  superseded  by  an 
impression  of  the  same  design  in  dark  bistre 
on  white  paper.  The  posthumous  type  is 
common  enough,  and  should  find  a  place  in 
every  collection.  It  is  duly  watermarked  ; 
it  is  not  a  reprint,  but  an  original  stamp,  and 
its  authenticity  is  beyond  question.  The 
stock,  which  had  been  prepared  in  advance, 
became  the  property  of  some  speculative 
Grerman  dealer,  and  has  been  disseminated, 
together,  in  fact,  with  the  entire  oval  series, 
over  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe. 

The  issue  of  1857  continued  in  un- 
interrupted circulation  until  1862,  when, 
rather  oddly,  the  postal  authorities  reverted 
to  the  style  of  the  first  edition,  and  issued  a 
3  sgr.  rose  on  white  paper,  watermarked  post- 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


horn.  Then,  in  1863,  they  reverted  to  the 
black  impressions,  producing  on  this  oc- 
casion a  new  value,  the  \  sgr.  black  on  green, 
and,  finally,  in  1665.  they  returned  once  more 
to  their  first  love,  the  impression  in  colour, 
at  the  same  time  adopting  the  improvement 
of  perforation  or,  rather,  in  this  instance, 
piercing.  At  this  last  date  they  issned  a 
1  sgr.  yellow,  on  white  paper,  perf. 
3     „     rose  ,,  „  ,, 

and  they  issued  a  supply  of  perforated 
|  sgr.  white.  } 

|  „  green.  >  black  impression. 
2  „  bine.  ) 
This  completes  the  catalogue  of  the  stamps 
of  the  first  type,  unless  we  add  that  the  \ 
sgr.  is  found  perforated,  to  use  the  now 
generic  term,  by  two  other  methods.  It 
will  be  observed  that  the  2  sgr.  was  evidently 
less  used  than  its  companion  values,  as  it 
continued  to  be  issued  on  coloured  paper 
■when  the  1  and  3  sgr.  were  emitted  on 
white. 

It  was  in  November,  1865,  that  the  second 
series  of  Brunswick  stamps  was  put  in 
circulation,  after  a  delay  of  several  months, 
during  which  a  number  of  proofs  of  the  new 
design  circulated  among  collectors.  These 
proofs  were  struck  in  black  on  white,  blue, 
green,  rose,  and  yellow  papers,  and  were  no 
doubt  authentic.  Besides  this,  the  design 
appeared  on  post-office  orders  before  the 
adhesives  came  out. 

Four  values  only  were  issued  in  the  new 
type,  viz.,  J  gr.  black,  1  gr.  rose,  2  gr.  blue, 
and  3  gr.  brown ;  the  old 
oblong  \  sgr.,  b!ack  on  green, 
continued  in  use  concurrentlv 
with  them,untJ  all  thestamps 
were  withdrawn,  nor  even  in 
the  reserve  stock  does  any 
supply  of  this  value  in  the 
new  type  appear  to  have  been 
found,  a  proof  that  it  was  not  much  used. 
The  design  is  of  the  usual  German  style, 
though  relieved  by  the  central  figure,  and 
neatly  executed.  The  perforation  is  in  up- 
right rectangles,  which  probably  is  the  most 
convenient.  The  only  notable  colour  variety 
is  found  in  the  1  gr.,  which  exists  in  rose 
and  in  a  rosy  red.  Thus  much  for  these 
adhesives,  which  were   less  common  during 


their  circulation  than  those  of  many  other 
German  states,  but  of  which  unused  speci- 
mens have  become  dirt  cheap,  since  they 
have  been  withdrawn  from  service.  The 
stock  must  have  been  originally  sold  at  waste- 
paper  rates,  to  admit  of  single  specimens 
being  put  at  the  prices  at  which  they  are 
now  offered. 

ENVELOPES. 

The  regular  issue  of  envelopes  did  not 
take  place  until  more  than  three  years  after 
the  emission  of  a-dhesives  ;  but  at  about  the 
same  time  as  the  first  series  of  these  latter 
became  current,  a  handstamped  envelope 
was  prepared  for  the  special  use  of  the  town 
of  Brunswick.  Its  design,  if  such  it  may  be 
called,  is  excelled  by  that  of  many  post- 
marks, and  consisted  simply  of  a  circle,  with 
the  letters  within  ;  sr.  P.  on  the  first  line,  and 
fr.  on  the  second.  These  letters  stood  for 
stadt  post,  franco  (City  Post,  Free).  This 
primitive  type  was  struck  generally  towards 
the  bottom  of  the  envelope,  and  sometimes 
on  the  right,  sometimes  on  the  left.  The 
official  issue  was  in  red  on  grey  paper,  but 
impressions  are  found  on  papers  of  all 
colours,  and  these  are  said  by  Dr.  Magnus 
to  be  the  envelopes  presented  to  the  adminis- 
tration, that  is,  as  I  understand,  submitted 
to  it.  Still,  without  in  the  least  impugning 
the  learned  doctor's  authority,  I  may  be 
permitted  to  suggest  that,  although  im- 
pressions on  all  the  known  colours  of  paper 
may  have  been  submitted  to  the  post-office, 
it  does  not  follow  that  all  the  known  speci- 
mens were  so  submitted,  and  one  is  led  to  infer 
from  their  number  that  a  reprint  took  place. 
The  unindicated  value  of  this  handstamped 
envelope  was  3  pfennige,  and  I  presume  it 
was  used  to  frank  letters  posted  and  delivered 
within  the  town.  Xo  government  envelope 
of  the  same  value  ever  made  its  appearance, 
and  it  may  be  that  this  one  continued  to  be 
used  until  1867,  but  on  this  point  I  have  no 
data  whatever.  I  only  know  that  at  one 
time  a  specimen  of  the  "  stadt-post"  envelope 
cost  half-a-crown,  and  that  now  it  may  be 
obtained  for  threepence,  which  argues  either 
a  long  currency  or  an  extensive  reprint. 

The  first  government  emission  took  place 
on  the  1st  August,  1855,  when  the  large  1, 
2,  and  3  sgr.  made  their  appearance.     These 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


values  were  struck  on  the  left  upper  corner 
of  the  envelope,  and  above  them  ran  the 
oblique  double-line  inscription  of  value  in 
minute  letters,  followed  by  the  words  post 
COUVERT ;  the  whole  printed  in  blue.  Of 
these  stamps  there  exist  several  colour  va- 
rieties, the  principal  of  which  may  be  noted. 

1  sgr.  yellow,  orange-yellow. 

2  ,,     light  blue,  dull  blue,  Prussian  blue, 

dark  ultramarine. 

3  „  pale  rose,  bright  rose,  and  carmine. 
Besides  these,  two  stamps — the  1  sgr.  and 
the  2  sgr. — are  found  with  the  lettering  in 
bluish  lilac.  Collectors  who  take  differences 
in  size  and  tint  of  envelopes  will  note  that 
the  stamps  are  impressed  on  large  and 
medium-sized  envelopes,  of  which  some  are 
white,  and  some  of  a  rose,  green,  or  blue  tint. 

The  1865  series  is  identical  in  type  with 
the  adhesives  of  the  same  year,  but  the  relief 
of  the  envelope  impressions  is  much  higher 
than  that  of  the  adhesives ;  the  same  blue 
lettering  as  in  the  preceding  series  running 
obliquely  above,  the  youngest  collector  can- 
not mistake  the  one  for  the  other.  Of  the 
three  values  which  form  this  series,  the 
following  are  the  colours  : — 

1  groschen,  bright  rose,  pale  rose,  carmine. 

2  „  ultramarine,  pale  and  dark. 

3  „  brownish  bistre,  pale  bistre. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  in  these  and  their 
companion  adhesives  the  denomination  is 
changed  from  silbergroschen  to  groschen. 

ESSAY. 

Borrowing  from  Dr.  Magnus'  valuable 
article  in  Le  Timbre-Poste  (No.  89),  I  am 
enabled  to  mention  the  existence  of  an  essay 
of  which  the  doctor  gives  the  following 
description  :  Square  stamp,  of  about  five- 
sixths  of  an  inch  in  size,  in  relief  on  colour, 
on  white  paper.  Brunswick  arms  on  a 
coloured  ground  in  a  round  linear  frame 
contained  in  a  double-lined  square  frame, 
inscribed  above  Braunschweig  ;  on  each  side, 
freimarke  ;  and  below,  2  groschen.  In  the 
four  angles  of  the  frame  the  figure  2,  which 
is  again  repeated  in  the  triangular  spaces  left 
between  the  square  and  the  circle.  The 
colours  of  the  four  essays  in  the  doctor's 
possession  are — 

Black,  carmine,  light  blue,  black-bistre. 


He  is  unable  to  give  any  special  information 
concerning  them,  but  suppose  that  they  were 
submitted  with  the  idea,  if  the  type  were 
adopted,  that  it  should  serve  for  both  en- 
velopes and  adhesives. 

Many  other  colours  than  those  above 
stated  are  known  to  exist  in  the  collections 
of  different  amateurs.  Some  are  struck  on 
coloured,  and  some  on  laid,  as  well  as  on 
white  paper. 

NOTES   ON   SOUTH  AMERICAN 
STAMPS. 

FROM   "  THE  PHILATELIST." 

In  the  first  volume  of  The  Philatelist,  page 
38,  is  the  following,  which  is  evidently  in- 
tended to  set  at  rest  the  question  of  the 
ownership  of  the  portrait  borne  by  the 
Chilian  postage  stamps  :  "  It  may  not  be 
irrelevant  to  note  here  the  recognition  of 
the  head  on  the  Ch.lian  stamps,  so  long 
considered  to  be  that  of  Columbus,  but 
which  is  now  unanswerably  ascertained  to 
be  a  portrait  of  Ramon  Freyre,  governor  of 
Concepcion."  It  seems  very  strange  that, 
of  all  the  presidents,  &3., 
of  Chili,  Freire  should  have 
been  the  one  chosen  on 
whom  to  conferthis  honour 
(if  it  be  one)  ;  for  as  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  learn, 
stamps  for  Chili  were  nob 
contemplated  by  him  dur- 
ing his  presidency, or  after- 
wards ;  nor  has  he  done  anything  to  entitle 
him  to  have  his  portrait  engraved  on  the 
stamps  of  his  country.  Be  this  as  it  may,  I 
trust  the  following  translation,  from  the  Post- 
office  Ordinance  of  Chili,  may  be  considered 
a  still  more  satisfactory  answer  to  this 
question : — 

Chap,  viii.,  clause  132:  "In  order  to  facilitate  the 
prepayment  of  letters,  the  Postmaster-General  shall  take 
care  to  issue,  for  the  present,  three  kinds  of  postage  stamps 
of  the  value  of  5,  10,  and  20  cents.  All  of  them  shall  bear 
the  bust  of  Columbus,  the  inscription  '  Correos-Porte- 
franco-Chile,'  and  the  designation  of  their  respective 
values." 

Now,  turning  to  vol.  iii.  of  The  Philatelist, 
p.  109,  in  explanation  of  the  word  "colon  " 
on  the  above-mentioned  stamps,  it  is  stated 
"that  it  is   the   port  to   which  the  stamp 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


franks  the  letter."  This,  again,  I  beg  leave 
to  correct.  "  Colon  "  is  merely  the  Spanish 
for  the  Italian  "  Colombo,"  and  refers  only 
to  the  portrait  of  Columbus.  Allowing  that 
at  first  the  stamps  paid  letters  only  as  far  as 
Colon,  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  in  a  new 
issue  the  word  wonld  have  been  omitted, 
since,  long  before  the  present  set  made  its 
appearance,  the  old  stamps  franked  letters  to 
any  part  of  the  United  States,  Cuba,  &c. 

In  the  translation  given  above,  it  will  be 
seen  that  no  mention  is  made  of  the  1  c. 
stamp  of  the  first  emission  ;  this  is  explained 
by  the  fact,  that,  though  nominally  a  postage 
stamp,  it  is  in  reality  a  fiscal.  The  same 
remark  applies  to  the  1  c.  and  2  c.  of  the 
present  issue.  The  following  may  be  takeu 
as  proofs  of  this : — (1)  The  lowest  rate  of 
postage  in  Chili  is  5  c.  the  Joz.  (about  2|d.)  ; 
and  (2)  they  are  not  sold  at  the  post-office. 
It  might,  however,  be  suggested,  that  they 
were  used  for  local  postage,  or  the  payment 
of  newspapers.  In  both  these  cases  no 
postage  is  charged  ;  and  the  only  time  the 
post-office  is  employed  for  the  delivery  of 
local  letters,  is  in  the  case  of  the  addressee 
having  a  box  in  the  office  ;  otherwise  they 
would  be  left  till  called  for.  It  may  not  be 
out  of  place  here  to  state  that  newspapers, 
&c,  from  Chili  to  any  country  in  South 
America,  and  vice-versa,  are  carried  gratis. 
It  is  not  to  be  denied,  however,  that  letters 
may  be,  and  sometimes  are,  paid  by  1  c.  and 
2  c.  stamps.  The  same  thing  happens  in 
Bolivia  at  present. 

It  may  not  here  be  out  of  place  to  correct 
a  few  of  the  mistakes  made  in  describing  j 
some  of  the  Central  and  South  American  | 
stamps.  In  the  Bolivian  stamps,  the  bird 
surmounting  the  oval  shield  is  a  condor,  not 
an  eagle.  The  animal  called  by  Mr.  Atlee  a 
"Noah's-ark-looking  sheep,"  is  a  guanaco. 
A  condor  figures  also  in  the  Colombian 
arms.* 

Again,  looking  through  stamp  catalogues, 
I  find  the  stamps  of  Bolivia,  Costa  Rica, 
Salvador,  &c,  described  as  "  mountain  land- 
scape," "  sea  view,"  "  volcano,"  &c,  respec- 
tively ;  whereas  I  see  no  reason  why  they 
should  not  be  described  as  ''arms,"  which 

*  [In  vol.  iii.  of  The  Stamp- Collector's  Magazine, 
p.  153,  this  is  queried. — Ed] 


the  landscapes,  flags,  &c,  on  the  above- 
mentioned  stamps,  represent. 

In  the  June  number  of  TheStamp-  Collector's 
Magazine,  the  editor  expresses  a  desire  to 
know  who  was  dictator  of  Peru  at  the  time 
that  the  "  llama  "  series  was  issued.  His 
name  is  Coronel  Senor  D.  Mariano  Prado, 
who,  it  will  be  remembered,  made  himself 
president,  or  rather  dictator,  of  Peru  shortly 
before  the  Spanish  war,  and  was  deposed  in 
January,  1868,  by  Coronel  Balta,  his  suc- 
cessor and  present  president-elect  of  Peru, 
who  revived  the  old  type  of  stamp.  Should 
the  present  governors  of  Bolivia  follow  his 
example,  we  may  expect  to  see  the  "  condor  " 
series  revived,  as  General  Melgarejo,  by 
whose  government  the  present  stamps  were 
issued,  was  expelled  from  Bolivia  about 
three  months  ago.  Neither  he  nor  Prado 
had  been  elected ;  hence  they  are  styled 
"  dictators." 

DEALERS   IN    FORGERIES. 

The  article  which  appeared  in  our  November 
number  has  brought  us  several  interesting 
and  properly  authenticated  communications 
respecting  the  dealers  in  forged  stamps.  In 
the  first  place,  we  have  received  from  one 
correspondent  a  so-called  prize,  won  by  him 
in  the  Yorkshire  Stamp  Union  got  up  by 
Mr.  Calvert,  of  Hull,  and  consisting  of  a  set 
of  perforated  forgeries,  of  the  spurious  St. 
Thomas  and  Porto  Rico  stamps,  of  the 
estimated  value  of  six  shillings.  The 
character  of  the  Stamp  Union  needs  no 
further  illustration. 

From  the  firm  of  Sidney,  Simpson,  &  Co., 
George  Yard,  Hull,  another  correspondent 
has  received  a  batch  of  forgeries,  comprising 
imitations  of  the  Salvador  4  reales,  Mexican 
i  real  blue,  Bolivian  500  c,  &c.  All  these 
stamps  were  comprised  in  a  sixpenny  packet, 
and  the  packet  was  accompanied  by  a  sheet 
of  forged  stamps  similar  to  the  one  described 
in  our  last,  together  with  a  letter  identical 
in  its  terms  with  the  one  we  reproduced. 

We  find,  also,  that  a  new  firm,  entitled 
Clayburn,  Dixon,  &  Co,  dating  from  29, 
Trinity  Street,  Hull,  has  sprung  up  ;  and  we 
notice  that  it  also  offers  the  imitation  St. 
Thomas    and    Porto    Rico    stamps    at    six 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


shillings   per  set,  the  price  quoted  by  Mr. 
Calvert. 

Under   these    circumstances,   we   have    a 
strong  suspicion  that  the  firms  trading  under 
the  style  of 
Charles  H.  Calvert  &  Co.,  Derringham  St., 

Hull; 
Sidney,  Simpson  &  Co.,  George  Yard,  Hull; 
Clayburn,  Dixon,  &  Co.,  29,  Trinity  St.,  Hull, 
if  not  all  conducted  by  one  and  the  same 
person,  are  worked  by  one  and  the  same 
set  of  persons  ;  are,  in  fact,  the  same  concern 
under  different  titles,  and  each  and  all  sell 
forged  stamps.  We  do  not  deal  in  motives, 
or  speak  of  the  extent  to  which  they  may  be 
aware  of  the  character  of  the  stamps,  but  we 
are  free  to  assert  the  fact  above  given, 
leaving  it  to  the  interested  parties  to  prove 
their  integrity,  and  our  readers,  meanwhile, 
to  draw  their  own  conclusions. 

Now  we  come  to  another  dealer  in  forged 
stamps,  named  James  Thompson,  of  182, 
North  Street,  Glasgow.  He  appears  to  be 
driving  a  lucrative  trade,  if  we  may  judge 
by  the  number  of  sheets  he  has  already  sent 
out.  From  him,  through  the  intermediary 
of  one  of  oar  correspondents,  we  have 
received  two  sheets  of  forgeries,  each  bearing 
the  following  heading  : — 

FOREIGN  POSTAGE   STAMPS 
FOR  COLLECTORS. 

All  Stamps  must  be  returned  within  fourteen  days. 

No. 


The  stamps  are  disposed  with  less  artistic 
arrangement  than  those  of  the  Hull  firms. 
They  are  placed  close  together,  so  that  on 
the  larger  sheet  there  are  five  rows  of  twelve 
imitations,  and  on  the  smaller,  three  rows  of 
ten.  The  imitations  are  of  the  same  class  as 
those  which  reach  us  from  Hull  ;  among 
them  we  meet  with  several  which  have  been 
described  by  Mr.  Atlee  in  the  pages  of  our 
contemporary,  The  Philatelist;  such  as  the 
Salvador,  the  Straits  Settlements,  Roumania, 
Liberia,  Mexico,  Egypt,  Bolivia,  &c.  Some 
of  the  stamps  offered,  would,  if  genuine,  be 
worth  from  sixpence  to  a  shilling  and 
upwards  ;  others  are  no  cheaper  for  being 
forged,  and  the  impressions  of  the  Charles 
Van  Diemen'  impositions  are  genuine.  The 
St.  Thomas  and   Porto  Rico  forged  myths 


make  their  appearance,  and,  indeed,  seem 
to  be  the  distinctive  mark  of  all  the 
sheets  of  forgeries.  All,  or  nearly  all,  come 
from  those  arch  imitators, — not  to  use  a 
harsher  name  with  regard  to  a  house  which 
makes  a  great  pretence  of  acting  honestly — 
Messrs.  Spiro  Brothers,  of  Hamburg,  who 
must  find  not  only  a  good  customer  in  Mr. 
Thompson,  but  in  some  other  Glasgow 
dealers,  whose  wares  we  hope  shortly  to 
notice. 

To  Mr  James  Thompson  we  have  to  make 
the  same  observation  as  to  the  others.  His 
responsibility  is  in  no  way  protected  by  the 
omission  of  the  words,  "  All  guaranteed 
genuine,"  or  others  to  the  same  purport, 
from  his  sheets.  He  offers  "Foreign  Postage 
Stamps,"  and  such  the  imitations  he  sells 
sere  not ;  if,  therefore,  he  knows  that  they  are 
not,  he  is  as  culpable  as  a  vendor  of  wooden 
nutmegs  ;  if  he  is  unaware  of  their  character, 
he  had  better  learn  a  little  more  about 
stamps  before  he  advertises  them,  and, 
wittingly  or  unwittingly,  is  instrumental  in 
deceiving  collectors. 


NEWLY-ISSUED    OR   INEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Nicaragua. — There  is  nothing  like  waiting*. 
After  the  necessary  exercise  of  patience,  the 
one  centavo  stamp  for  this  republic,  an- 
nounced a  twelvemonth  since  as  about  to 
appear,  has  actually  turned  up,  and  is  found 
to  agree  with  the  description  given  of  it  in 
advance.  The  type  resembles  in  the  main 
that  of  the  other  values,  the  inscription 
being  like  that  on  the  five  cents  ;  the  colour 
is  light  brown. 

United  States. — We  deem  it  as  well  to 
reproduce  an  illustration  which  appeared  in 
^^^fi^^  our    last     number,     as 

/^§8*^Ero\  the  paragraph — written 
t  ,  ra^v  hurriedly  at  the  moment 
of  going  to  press — re- 
quires recasting.  By 
Jjflvl  r  _  :  '1EFr  an  oversight,  which  we 
^5HH2J|0^'  profoundly  regret,  we 
described  this  stamp  in 
terms  which  must  have  led  our  readers  to 
suppose  that  it  had  been  recently  issued.  In 
point  of  fact  the  design  is  that  of  an  essay, 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


respecting  which  some  really  trustworthy 
information  is  wanted,  for  but  little  is  posi- 
tively known  about  it  at  present.  M.  Moens, 
who  possesses  the  copy  from  which  the  above 
engraving  was  taken,  says  it  is  cut  round, 
having-  a  margin  of  four-fifths  of  an  inch 
on  all  sides,  and  the  vergeure  is  horizontal  ; 
which,  he  argues,  is  a  proof  that  it  is  a 
newspaper  band,  the  envelopes  having  the 
vergeure  obliquely  placed.  But  there  never 
has  been  a  journal  stamp  of  that  value  in 
the  United  States,  a  fact  which  is  con- 
clusive against  this  impression  being  one. 
The  colour  also  has  not  been  borne  by  a 
fifteen  cent  adhesive,  and  the  envelopes  are 
always  of  the  same  colour  as  their  companion 
label.  The  head  is  unquestionably  that  of 
Lincoln ;  and  from  this  fact,  coupled  with 
the  type  of  the  design,  we  argue  that  the 
impression  was  probably  struck  as  a  proof 
at  about  the  time  of  the  emission  of  the  15  c. 
adhesive  black,  with  head  of  Lincoln. 

Since  the  above  was  in  type,  we  learn  that 
there  are  two  copies  of  this  essay  in  Mr. 
Philbrick's  collection,  the  one  on  white 
paper,  laid  vertically;  the  other  on  buff,  also 
laid  vertically,  but  watermarked  F.  o.  d.,  u.  s., 
as  in  the  United  States  envelopes  then  cur- 
rent (18G8).  Both  impressious  are  in  blue, 
of  a  deep  tint,  and  so  far  from  being  cut 
close,  are  about  3  inches  square.  Mr.  Phil- 
brick  informs  us  he  received  them  as  proofs 
of  an  envelope,  value  15  cents,  intended  to 
be  issued  ;  and  this  fully  explains  our  view, — 
that  they  are  envelope  essays ;  essays  of  the 
United  States  envelopes  are  usually  on  paper 
laid  vertically,  as  contradistinguished  from 
the  oblique  vergeures  of  the  envelopes  them- 
selves. 

German  Empire. — We  were  really  sorry 
to  think  that  the  engraving  recently  pub- 
lished in  The  Philatelist  represented  the 
adopted  type  of  the  series  of  German 
postage  stamps.  It  was  so  ridiculously  ugly 
that  we  could  not  but  wonder  what  the 
German  postal  authorities  were  thinking 
about  when  they  accepted  it. 

In  point  of  fact,  however,  these  said  au- 
thorities have  shown  very  good  taste  in 
their  selection  of  a  design  for  the  initial 
series  of  postage  stamps  for  imperial  Ger- 
many;    and  our  readers  need  only  turn  to 


the  advertisement  sheet  of  the  present 
number  to  assure  themselves, 
SfcrE  I  DJ  ocular  examination  of  the 
fe.  !  specimen  of  the  |-  groschen, 
which  will  be  found  there, 
that  our  opinion  is  borne  Out 
by  the  appearance  of  that 
stamp.  The  design  is  the 
same  for  all  the  values:  the 
new  imperial  arms — consisting  of  a  one- 
headed  eagle,  with  the  Prussian  escutcheon 
displayed  on  its  breast — in  white  relief,  on 
an  uncoloured  quadrille  ground,  in  circle ; 
Deutsche  reichs-post  above,  in  a  curved  line, 
and  the  value  below,  the  ground  outside  the 
circle  being  formed  of  network,  and  the 
whole  enclosed  in  a  thick  linear  frame  of  the 
same  colour  as  the  stamp,  after  the  fashion 
of  the  Alsace  and  Lorraine  series.  Although 
these  labels  do  not  exceed,  but,  if  anything, 
are  rather  under  the  usual  size,  they  unite 
the  two  characteristics  of  a  well  designed 
postage  stamp,  namely,  clearness  and  a 
pleasing  appearance.  The  inscriptions  are 
neatly  cut  and  readable  ;  the  figures  of  value 
are  unmistakably  plain  ;  the  whole  design  is 
simple,  and  yet  by  the  aid  of  bright  hues, 
and  especially  of  an  external  band  of  colour, 
the  effect  is  charming.  The  values  are — 
j  groschen  rich  mauve. 
i         „  light  green. 

\         ,,         orange-red. 

1  „         rose. 

2  ,,         ultramarine. 
5         „  stone. 

There  has  also  been  issued  a  1  groschen 
envelope,  of  which  the  design  is  substan- 
tially the  same  as  its  companion  adhesive; 
but  the  lettering  is  sunken,  and  the  white 
network  raised;  whilst  the  frame,  instead 
of  presenting  a  broad  margin  of  colour,  con- 
sists of  a  simple  coloured  line,  of  hardly 
more  than  the  ordinary  thickness;  and  a 
two-line  inscription,  in  pale  grey,  diagonally 
crosses  the  stamp.  The  impression  is  more 
careful  than  that  of  the  adhesives.  These 
latter  appear  to  be  printed  in  two  opera- 
tions, the  arms  being  struck  after  the  frame 
has  been  impressed,  and  hence  it  arises  that 
in  them  the  arms  vary  in  position,  and  are 
sometimes  found  encroaching  on  the  border. 
For  the  envelopes,  the  two  dies  must  have 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


been  united,  and  greater  accuracy  is  the 
result.  It  is  likely  that  only  this  one 
envelope  will  be  issued  to  accompany  the 
groschen  series,  but  the  kreuzer  series  of 
adhesives,  which  we  have  to  chronicle,  will 
also  have  its  companion  3  kreuzer  envelope. 
The  kreuzer  stamps  are  identical  in  design 
with  the  groschen  series  ;  the  values  alone 
are  changed,  and  they  are  made,  as  in  the 
preceding  series,  to  correspond  as  closely  as 
possible  with  their  congeners.  They  are  as 
follows  :  — 


1  kreuzer 

light  green. 

2      „ 

orange-red. 

3      „ 

rose. 

7      „ 

ultramarine 

8      „ 

stone. 

In  addition  to  these  there  have  been  issued 
newspaper  bands  of  the  value  of  §•  sgr.  and 
I  kr.,  respectively,  both  printed  in  green  like 
the  adhesives. 

Japan. — We  referred,  at  vol.  ix.,  p.  180, 
to  the  existence  of  a  previously  unknown 
Japanese  stamp  or  seal,  discovered  by  the 
Magazin  fur  den  Sammler ;  we  are  now 
able  to  give  an  engraving 
of  it,  and  our  readers  will 
agree  with  us  that  the  de- 
sign is  one  of  the  most  in- 
genious and  grotesque  ever 
seen.  It  has  quite  the  look 
of  a  Chinese  puzzle,  and  we 
may  appropriately  add  that 
its  employment  is  a  mystery. 
It  exists  both  perforated  and 
unperf orated  ; — another  inxeplicable  circum- 
stance, for  the  Japanese  postage  stamps 
proper  are  all  unperforated.  The  emblems 
appear  to  be  the  same  as  those  borne  by  the 
new  silver  coins,  of  American  manufacture, 
namely,  sun  surrounded  by  rays,  and  three 
flowers  ;  although  on  the  coins  the  position 
of  these  emblems  is  reversed.  In  the 
ribbons,  the  roman  letters  X  L  J  are  several 
times  repeated  ; — a  further  puzzle.  The  sun, 
the  flowers,  and  the  inscription  on  the  disk, 
are  printed  in  black  ;  the  rest  of  the  stamp 
in  blue  ;  on  white  paper.  No  value  being 
indicated,  it  is  argued  that  the  stamp  may  be 
used  to  seal  official  documents.  If  this 
should  meet  the  eye of  any  person  capable 


of  explaining  its  employment,  or  of  giving 
any  other  information  respecting  it,  he  will 
confer  a  favour  on  philatelists  by  publishing 
the  intelligence. 

France. — It  is  asserted  that  the  new 
stamps  are  to  make  their  appearance  this  1st 
of  January  ;  meanwhile,  we  may  notice  the 
emission  of  the  new  receipt  stamp,  as  it 
presents  several  novel  features.  First  of  all, 
the  inscription  is  simply  "  France,"  instead 
of  "  Republique  Francaise  ;"  and  this  has 
been  deliberately  done  to  meet  the  possibility 
of  changes  in  the  government,  and  to  avoid 
wounding  any  person's  susceptibilities  by  an 
apparent  preference  for  any  one  form  ; — a 
most  striking  proof  of  the  instability  of  all 
forms  on  the  other  side  of  the  water. 
Secondly,  the  stamps  are  protected  against 
forgery  by  the  fabrication  in  the  paper  of 
rectangular  white  disks,  of  about  half  an 
inch  in  size,  arranged  between  the  stamps 
so  that  each  stamp  has  the  half  of  a  disk  on 
either  side  ;  the  centre  of  the  design,  on 
which  the  figure  of  value  appears,  being  left 
dark.  When  a  sheet  of  these  stamps  is 
held  up  to  the  light,  the  effect  of  the  semi- 
transparent  squares  is  very  curious.  Thirdly, 
the  design  is  printed  on  a  lithographed 
reticulated  groundwork ;  and,  fourthly,  the 
stamps  are  not  perforated.  We  shall  be 
curious  to  learn  whether  the  changes  in  the 
style  of  engraving  thus  introduced,  will 
be  noticeable  in  the  forthcoming  postage 
stamps,  and  we  certainly  think  it  regrettable 
that  engravers  so  renowned  for  their  pre- 
eminence should  retrograde  so  far,  after  the 
production  of  masterpieces  such  as  the 
stamps  of  1848  and  those  of  the  empire. 

At  the  moment  of  going  to  press,  we  re- 
ceive the  following  communication  from  a 
friend  in  Paris  : — 

I  have  seen  the  following  announcement  made  in  three 
papers,  and  (I  believe)  in  the  Journal  Officiel  also  : — 

The  circulation  of  the  new  postage  stamps,  with  a  very  conspicuous 
figure  in  the  centre,  commenced  yesterday.  The  administration  has 
commenced  the  issue  with  the  five  centimes  stamps,  those  of  15  and 
25  c.  are  to  follow.     (13  Dec,  '71). 

Ill  consequence,  I  called  at  one  of  the  principal  district 
offices,  and  also  at  the  head  office,  but  they  told  me  that 
they  had  not  any  of  the  said  stamps.  At  the  chief 
office  they  also  told  me  the  government  had  no  intention 
to  make  any  alteration  in  those  actually  in  use,  and  that 
the  stamps  referred  to  must  be  for  fiscal  purposes,  like 
the  10  c.  receipt  stamps. 

We  are  none  the  less  convinced  that  the 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZIXE. 


new  stamps  will  shortly  make  their  appear- 
ance, and  have  indeed  seen  some  essays 
which  we  hope  to  describe  next  month: 
meanwhile,  for  information  on  postal  mat- 
ters, commend  us  above  all  to  a  Parisian 
official ! 

Russian  Locals. — These  now  begin  to 
form  a  regular  item  in  our  monthly  batch  of 
novelties,  and  we  are  very  glad  to  be  able 
thus  to  introduce  them  to  our  readers,  as 
they  present  considerable  interest,  and  are 
not  now  so  rare  as  they  once  were  ;  more- 
over, the  makers  of  shams  and  forgeries 
have  not  yet  contributed  any  spurious  stamps 
or  counterfeits  ;  consequently  no  difficulties 
or  suspicions  surround  their  collection,  such 
as  render  the  attempt  to  collect  American 
locals  such  an  unthankful  one. 

CJierson. — The  annexed  type  was  duly 
described  in  the  list 
published  by  us  last 
July,  and  it  represents 
the  second  issue  for 
Cherson  ;  but  one  ini- 
I^-T;  portant  characteristic 
not  mentioned  by  our 
correspondent  distin- 
guishes it  from  all  the 
other  locals — it  is  per- 
forated. The  design  is 
very  clear  and  far  from  devoid  of  merit. 
The  courier  in  the  centre  is  printed  in  black, 
and  the  rest  of  the  stamp  is  in  red.  The 
value  is  a  high  one  for  a  local  stamp — 10 
kopecs. 

Berdiansh. — This  stamp  we  described  so 
long  since  as  in  May  last,  and  had  not  our 
sole  specimen  been  mislaid, 
the  annexed  engraving 
would  have  been  given  im- 
mediately after.  The  design 
is,  relatively,  rather  a  neat 
one.  and  is  printed  in  three 
colours ;  the  upper  section 
is  printed  in  green,  the 
plough  and  hovel  being 
outlined  in  black  ;  the  lower  section  is 
blue,  and  the  anchor  is  black  ;  the  external 
frame  is  uncoloured.     The  inscription  reads 

STAMP    OF    BERDIANSK    RURAL    POST. 

Belozersk. — A  year  ago  we  published  an 
engraving  of  the  2  kop.  stamp  for  this  dis- 


Tp,Jl*«.i!I.B'.ls 

n    ' 

«*™ 

trict,  a  most  unpretending  affair  consisting 
simply  of  an  inscription  in 
black,  on  a  ground  of  coloured 
lines  ;  but  Belozersk  aspires  to 
something  of  a  more  ornate 
and  distinctive  character,  and 
has  just  produced  the  an- 
nexed design,  which  presents  a 
droll  combination  of  emblems, 
crescent  and  cross  together — to  what  event 
can  such  a  mixture  point  r — and  below  that 
device  two  fishes  saltire.  The  execution  of 
this  design  is  not  so  remarkable  as  its  con- 
ception. The  fishes  are  but  half  visible,  and 
the  whole  impression,  which  is  black  on 
white,  is  very  rough.  The  value  is  3  kopecs. 
Valdai. — Both  Belozersk  and  Valdai  are 
in  the  Novgorod  government :  and  on  the 
Valdaian  stamp  we  find  a 
crown  of  the  same  shape  as 
that  which  figures  on  the 
Novgorod  emission.  The 
peak  which  occupies  the 
right-hand  half  is  probably 
the  distinctive  device  of 
Valdai  itself,  if  we  may  ven- 
ture on  the  conjecture;  but  the  sight  of 
these  stamps  gives  rise  in  our  mind,  and 
probably  in  that  of  our  readers,  to  a  great 
desire  to  lnioi1:  what  may  be  the  history  and 
signification  of  their  devices.  These  armorial 
bearings  have  not  been  lightly  assumed ; 
they  must  contain  within  themselves  the 
souvenir  of  some  obscure  but  interesting  in- 
cident in  Russian  history,  must  perpetuate 
the  memory  of  some  curious  local  event, 
have  been  adopted  in  honour  of  some  im- 
portant local  staple,  or  contain  allusion  to 
some  little-known  geographical  feature. 
The  Valdaian  label  hints  at  the  existence  of 
a  mountain, — what  and  where  is  that  moun- 
tain ?  By  such  inquiries,  and  the  research 
to  which  they  give  rise,  the  value  of  stamp- 
collecting  as  an  educational  agent  is  vindi- 
cated to  an  extent  undreamt  of  by  the  earlier 
philatelists.  We,  for  our  part,  hope  to  learn 
a  great  deal  more  of  Russia  than  we  at  pre- 
sent know,  through  the  issue  of  these  local 
stamps  ;  and  we  venture  to  hope  that  our 
obliging  correspondent  at  St.  Petersburg 
will  put  us,  and  through  us,  perchance,  our 
readers,  in  the  way  of  acquiring  some  know- 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


9 


ledge  respecting  the  designs  of  the  stamps, 
the  mode  in  which  the  rural  postal  service 
is  performed,  and  many  other  kindred 
matters.  Returning,  fur  a  moment,  to  the 
Valdai  stamp,  we  have  only  to  say,  repeating 
the  information  given  in  July  last,  that  the 
design  is  printed  in  black,  on  deep  rose  paper, 
and    that   the    inscription    signifies    valdai 

DISTRICT    RURAL    COURT. 

Finland. — This  province  seems,  in  postal 
matters,  to  be  always  in  advance  of  the  rest 
of  the  Russian  empire.  It  is  now  using  post 
cards,  whilst  the  St.  Petersburg  post  office 
has  not  yet  issued  those  which  are  intended 
for  the  "  governments "  under  its  control. 
The  Finnish  card  is  a  handsome  one,  larger 
than  most  of  the  others,  and  the  design  is 
printed  in  green  on  buff,  an  excellent  com- 
bination. The  exterior  frame  is  composed  of 
an  etruscan  border,  and  in  the  centre  of  the 
card  is  the  inscription  korrespondanskort,  in 
an  arched  line,  with  for  Finland  below.  An 
impression  from  the  die  of  the  8  pennia  ad- 
hesive occupies  the  left  upper  corner,  and  the 
contrast  is  striking  between  its  rough  out- 
lines and  the  finished  engraving  of  the  in- 
scription and  border.  We  should  add  that 
below  the  legend  the  usual  lines  for  the  ad- 
dress appear,  and  are  accompanied  by  the 
words  till  and  bestammelseort  in  caligraphic 
characters  ;  beneath  these  again  come  some 
short  directions,  printed  in  block  type ;  and 
the  back  of  the  card  is  ruled  with  fine  dotted 
lines. 

Together  with  the  card  we  have  received 
a  kind  of  stamp  which  will  have  to  be  classed 
"  all  by  itself."  When  a  registered  letter  is 
delivered,  the  receiver,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, may  have  to  give  (or  must  give, 
for  we  are  not  certain  whether  it  is  obli- 
gatory on  his  part  to  do  so)  a  stamped  re- 
ceipt for  it,  which  is  returned  (free)  by  the 
post-office  to  the  sender.  The  receipt  form 
is  about  6  in.  by  3|,  and  bears  an  impression 
of  the  10  pen.  adhesive,  in  rose,  in  the  upper 
left  corner.  The  legend  commences  with 
the  title,  in  large  type — retour  recepisse 
for  Finland— and  then  follows  the  form  of 
receipt,  supplemented  by  certain  instructions 
at  foot.  On  the  reverse  of  the  form  is  re- 
peated, but  in  Finnish,  the  heading,  read- 
ing— paluukuitti  suomenmaalla.     The  form 


is  gummed  on  the  front  side,  down  its  left 
margin,  for  the  purpose,  we  presume,  of  at- 
taching it  to  the  letter  to  which  it  relates. 
The  stamp  is  evidently  struck  before  the 
form  is  printed  on,  as  some  of  the  letter-press 
encroaches  on  it. 

Austria  and  Hungary. — Of  the  post  cards 
for  these  countries  there  are  two  varieties 
which  have  not  hitherto  been  noticed.  The 
first  Austrian  post  card  has  a  shield  and 
crown  under  the  inscription  correspondenz- 
karte,  and,  moreover,  the  stamp  is  in  rather 
pale  yellow,  whilst  the  card  is  buff;  the 
second  card  has  the  double-headed  and 
crowned  eagle  under  the  inscription;  the 
stamp  is  printed  in  an  orange  yellow,  the 
card  itself  being  of  a  light  yellow  colour. 

We  gave  an  illustration  of  one  of  the  Hun- 
garian post  cards  in  our  June  number,  which 
has,  in  its  upper  right  corner,  an  impression 
from  the  die  of  the  current  Hungarian  ad- 
hesives,  and  in  the  centre  an  inscription,  in 
two  lines,  the  upper  in  Magyar,  the  lower  in 
German  ;  but  this  was  not  really  the  first 
card  issued  for  Hungary.  It  was  preceded 
by  one  which  was  in  all  respects  but  one  the 
exact  copy  of  the  old  Austrian  card  above 
noticed.  It  has  the  impression  of  the  Aus- 
trian 2  kr.  yellow  in  the  upper  right  corner, 
and  the  same  framework ;  it  has  also  the 
crown  and  shield,  but  the  arched  inscription 
above  is  levelezesi  lap,  instead  of  corres- 
pondenz-karte.  At  the  back  of  the  card,  as 
on  the  Austrian,  there  are  two  lines  of  print, 
one  at  top  and  one  at  bottom.  Even  in  size 
this  first  Hungarian  card  was  identical  with 
its  Austrian  prototype ;  whilst  the  new 
emission  is  quite  one-fifth  of  an  inch  wider, 
and  an  eighth  longer.  Evidently  the  first 
card,  on  which  the  inscriptions  are  exclusively 
in  Magyar,  was  prepared  as  if  for  the  Hun- 
garians alone,  the  authorities  forgetting  that 
for  the  Germans  scattered  there,  a  card  with 
inscriptions  they  could  comprehend  would 
also  be  required  ;  and  in  the  new  issue,  care 
has  been  paid  to  this  matter  by  printing  the 
inscriptions  in  both  languages. 

Of  the  engraved  Hungarian  series  (which 
we  were  the  first  to  notice)  there  are  now 
in  circulation  four  values,  viz.,  2,  3,  5,  and 
10  kreuzer. 

We  have  seen  the  cover  of  a  letter  from 


10 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


the  chief  post-office  at  Vienna,  which  was 
franked  by  a  5  kr.  fiscal  stamp, — we  mean 
one  of  the  series  with  leaf  groundwork  and 
value  in  centre  of  a  circle.  This  particular 
stamp  has  the  value  in  words,  following  the 
under  edge  of  the  circle,  and  the  date  below 
that  surcharged  in  dull  green  ;  it  is  post- 
marked like  an  ordinary  label,  and  above  it 
is  a  handstamp  struck  he/ore  the  adhesive 
was  affixed,  consisting  of  a  transverse  oval, 
with  the  inscription  k.k.postamt,wien,  within 
in  three  lines.  This  seems  worthy  of  at 
least  a  passing  notice. 

Fiji  Islands. — The  American  Journal  of 
Philately,  in  its  current  impression,  publishes 
the  following  letter  : — 


Sib, 


U.  S.  Consulate,  Figi, 

Leouka,  Ovalou, 

Sept.  9th,  1871. 


Tour  favour  of  June  20th,  touching  the  postage 
stamps  of  Figi,  is  received. 

The  Figi  Times  Express  office  has  issued  a  stamp  upon 
its  own  responsibility. 

The  Figi  government  has  not  yet  issued  a  stamp.  It 
is  probable  that  such  will  be  done  within  a  few  months. 

I  do  not  not  know  that  I  can  give  you  any  further  in- 
formation. 

I  remain,  yours  very  trulv, 
J.  W.  BUOWN, 

U.  S.  Consul. 

Our  contemporary  adds, 

The  government  issue  referred  to  in  the  above,  was  to 
make  its  appearance  on  Oct.  1st,  and  will  consist  of 
three  stamps,  of  the  values  of  3,  5,  and  10  cents  ;  the  first 
for  inland  postage,  the  second  for  letters  to  Sydney,  and 
the  third  for  letters  to  the  United  States ;  they  will  be 
adorned  with  a  likeness  of  King  Thakombau,  or,  as  he  is 
now  called,  Ebenezer. 

In  connection  with  these  statements,  one 
question  occurs  to  us.  Has  The  Fiji  Times 
a  postal  service  of  its  own  ;  if  not,  then  un- 
der what  arrangement  are  its  numbers 
carried  ? 

Montevideo. — A  new  supply  of  the  cur- 
rent 5  and  10  c.  has  arrived  there.  The  dis- 
position of  the  dies  has  been  altered ;  for 
instance,  on  the  sheet  of  5  c,  the  errors  cen- 
tecimo  are  now  second  and  fourth  stamps  of 
the  seventh  row,  instead  of  being  fifth  and 
seventh,  as  before  ;  and  the  stamp  with  blank 
space  under  horse  is  now  the  second  stamp  in 
the  last  row,  instead  of  being  fifth,  as  here- 
tofore. For  a  list  of  these  errors,  we  refer  the 
reader  to  p.  146  of  our  eighth  volume.  We 
may  add,  that  the  5  c.  with  the  last  s  away 


from  the  rest  of  the  word,  which  was  the 
sixth  stamp  of  the  fifth  row,  is  now  the  third 
stamp  on  the  first  row ;  so  that,  for  some 
unexplained  reason,  the  whole  sheet  has 
been  rearranged.  The  impressions,  too, 
are  more  like  lithographs  than  formerly. 
The  sheets  are  watermarked  t.  h.  saunders, 
1870.  We  believe  Messrs.  Maclure,  Mac- 
donald,  and  Macgregor  are  the  engravers. 

Porto  Rico. — A  correspondent  forwards 
for  description  an  official  frank  stamp  for 
this  colony,  which  has  not  yet  been  described. 
It  is  of  large  size — an  upright  oval,  about  1^ 
in.  by  1| — and  struck  in  black.  The  Spanish 
escutcheon  and  collar  occupy  the  centre  ;  the 
border  is  inscribed  gobierno  superior  civil 
de  pto.  kico.  This  stamp  was  received  by 
our  correspondent  three  or  four  years  since, 
and  was  the  only  stamp  on  the  letter  on 
which  it  came ;  it  is  certainly  entitled  to  be 
classed  with  the  other  handstamped  im- 
pressions of  Spain  and  her  colonies. 

Natal. — We  draw  our  readers'  attention 
to  an  interesting  contribution  respecting  the 
varieties  of  the  provisional  stamps  of  this 
colony,  in  the  shape  of  a  letter,  the  joint 
production  of  five  Natal  collectors,  which 
appears  in  the  "  Correspondence"  columns  of 
the  present  number.  We  wish  success  to  the 
studies  of  this  informal  little  association  of 
philatelists,  and  hope  their  example  will  be 
followed  by  our  subscribers  in  other  coun- 
tries. 

Roumania. — There  seems  to  be  some  reason 
for  supposing  that  the  1^  bani  blue  and 
yellow,  hitherto  printed  only  on  wrappers,  is 
also  used  as  a  label.  Our  publishers  have 
communicated  to  us  an  unused  and  un- 
gummed  specimen  perce  a  la  roulette,  but 
they  state  that  it  is  the  only  one  they  have 
seen.  The  piercing  may  have  been  done  by 
some  person  for  a  whim,  or  with  intent  to 
deceive,  and  the  issue  of  the  design  as  an  ad- 
hesive cannot  as  yet  be  considered  certain. 

England. — The  Keble  College  stamp  is 
no  longer  obliterated  with  a  pencil  mark, 
as  stated  by  our  Brighton  contemporary,  but 
by  a  handstamp,  with  five  projecting  knobs, 
producing  five  round  black  marks,  of  which 
one  is  in  the  centre,  two  above,  and  two 
below.  We  possess  a  specimen  thus  ob- 
literated. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


11 


Tolima. — We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Pem- 
berton  for  notice  of  the  existence  of  error 
varieties  in  the  newly  issued  5  centavos,  oc- 
casioned in  the  transfer  of  the  design  from 
the  original  die  to  the  lithographic  plates, 
the  chief  one  being  the  word  "  cinco  "  writ- 
ten "  tingo." 

Romax  States. — The  lately  current  series 
has  the  5  centesimi  with  and  without  stop 
after  figure  of  value.  Similarly  the  40  c.  is 
found  with  the  stop  after  "  cent,"  and  the 
stop  behueen  the  figure  and  the  word  "  cent." 

Ceylon. — We  have  official  information 
from  Colombo  to  the  effect,  that  from  the  1st 
January,  1872,  new  postage  labels  will,  in 
connection  with  the  decimal  system,  be 
issued  in  rupees  and  cents. 

Switzerland. — The  colour  of  the  im- 
pression upon  the  5  centimes  band  has  been 
altered  from  red  to  pale  rose.  We  do  not 
know  whether  the  2  c.  has  undergone  the 
same  transformation. 

Austrian  Branch  Offices.- — A  corre- 
spondent informs  us  that  the  25  soldi 
stamps  received  on  letters  by  the  last  Turkish 
mails  are  purple-black. 

Shanghai. — Of  the  first  issue  another 
variety  has  been  discovered,  viz.,  the  choco- 
late (cand.),  with  the  word  candareen  spelt 
gandareen. 

Servia. — We  have  the  authority  of  the 
Deutsche  Briefmarken  Zeitung,  for  stating 
that  a  post  card  is  to  be  issued  for  this  prin- 
cipality. 

Luxembourg. — The  30  centimes  is  now 
issued  perforated,  on  line  of  colour ;  the 
stamp  itself  remains  unchanged. 

Mexico. — The  12  c.  stamp  of  the  republic 
is  now  printed  on  brown  paper,  same  as  that 
used  for  the  6  c. 

St.  Thomas. — The  sole  label  used  in  this 
island — the  3  cents — is  now  perforated  a  la 
roulette. 

Cashmere. — The  1871  issue  of  the  4  anna 
green,  and  8  anna  red,  is  on  glossy  thin  laid 
paper. 

Heligoland. — The  one  schilling  is  issued 
with  machine  perforations. 

Holland. — The  current  10  centimes  is 
found  on  bluish  paper. 

Angola. — The  10  reis  is  now  of  a  rich 
golden  yellow. 


POSTAL    SPHERES. 

During  the  Prussian  siege  of  Paris  great 
interest  was  excited,  not  only  in  the  French 
provinces,  but  also  in  foreign  countries, 
among  all  those  who  had  relatives  or  friends 
in  the  besieged  capital,  by  the  announcement 
that  letters  properly  prepaid  and  addressed, 
Paris,  via  Moulins  (Allier),  would  duly  reach 
their  destination.  It  was  an  official  an- 
nouncement ;  the  grounds  on  which  it  was 
made  are  exposed  in  a  report  of  the  meeting 
of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences  on  the 
21st  November,  published  by  the  Journal 
Officiel  de  la  Eepublique ;  and  as  the  facts 
therein  narrated  disclose  a  novel  phase  in  the 
history  of  postal  communications,  we  make 
no  excuse  for  reproducing  them. 

As  soon  as  the  armistice  was  signed  (says 
the  report),  how  many  persons,  confident 
that  their  letters  had  been  duly  delivered, 
asked  the  Parisians,  "  But  what  signified  the 
mysterious  words,  '  via  Moulins  (Allier)  ?  '  " 
and  the  Parisians  were  much  puzzled  to 
reply,  for  at  that  time  only  the  governor  of 
Paris  and  the  provincial  delegation  were  in 
the  secret,  together  with  the  inventors  of  the 
mode  of  communication  which  gave  rise  to 
the  formula. 

In  fact,  on  one  of  the  first  days  of  October, 
MM.  Yonoven,  Delort,  and  Robert  presented 
themselves  at  the  Louvre,  with  a  plan, 
asserted  to  be  infallible,  for  getting  letters 
through  from  the  provinces  to  Paris.  It  was 
very  simple,  but  very  efficacious,  and  con- 
sisted in  the  use  of  spheres,  or  balls  of  zinc, 
with  float-boards,  like  those  of  a  mill-wheel 
fixed  over  their  surface ;  the  balls  to  be 
hollow,  and  800  letters  to  be  packed  in  each. 
These  balls  were  to  be  flung  into  the  Marne 
or  the  Seine,  as  near  as  possible  to  Paris  ; 
and  it  was  suggested,  that  being  drawn  along 
by  the  current,  they  would  roll  down  the 
bed  of  the  river,  dragging  themselves  (by 
means  of  the  float-boards)  over  such  ob- 
stacles as  they  might  encounter,  and  de- 
scending the  stream  as  far  as  Paris,  where, 
at  the  Port-a-FAnglais,  was  to  be  stretched  a 
large  receiving  net.     Was  this  practicable  ? 

The  proposed  system  was  first  tried  in  the 
Bievre,  near  the  Hautes-Bruyeres,  and  under 
the  enemy's  cannon.     The  progress  of  the 


12 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


spheres  was  rapid ;  they  were  seen  rolling 
along  the  bed.  Clearer  proof,  however,  was 
required.  On  the  1st  December,  a  gun-boat 
ventured  up  to  within  150  metres  of  the 
Prussian  out-posts,  bearing  on  its  deck  the 
postmaster-general,  M.  Rampont,  and  one  of 
the  spheres  was  flung  out  in  the  direction  of 
the  town. 

After  a  great  deal  of  trouble  a  net  of  the 
required  dimensions  had  been  manufactured, 
and  placed  across  the  stream  at  Port-a- 
l'Anglais.  The  next  day,  in  presence  of  a 
number  of  witnesses,  the  globe,  sealed  and 
fastened  by  the  administration,  and  flung  the 
previous  evening  into  the  Seine,  was  found 
caught  in  its  meshes. 

Thenceforth  hesitation  was  at  an  end  ;  the 
inventors  received  orders  to  work  their  plan 
in  the  provinces,  and  a  balloon  carried  off 
them  and  their  materiel,  depositing  them  at 
La  Ferte  Bernard.  It  was  not  so  easy  as 
one  might  have  supposed  to  get  the  neces- 
sary authority  to  fling  the  spheres  into  the 
river,  for  MM.  Delort  and  Robert  did  not 
obtain  the  permission  to  do  so  until  the  27th 
December.  From  that  date  a  postal  agent 
went  religiously,  night  and  morning,  in  rain 
and  snow,  and  during  the  bombardment,  to 
take  up  the  net  at  the  Port-a  1' Anglais, — but 
nothing  came  as  it  ought  to  have  done. 

The  first  batch  sent  consisted  of  four 
spheres  ;  the  Prussians  had  retaken  Auxerres; 
the  balls  had  to  be  flung  in  at  Bray-sur- 
Seine,  the  letters  themselves  having  been 
brought  from  Moulins  (Allier).  One  of  the 
inventors,  M.  Robert,  collected  them,  de- 
posited them  in  the  spheres,  and  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route  arrived  at  the  forest  of  Fon- 
tainbleau.  The  immersion  of  the  spheres 
took  place  sometimes  at  Thomery,  and  some- 
times at  the  bridge  of  Sannois ;  and  thus 
things  went  on  until  the  1st  February.  Fifty- 
five  balls  in  all  were  flung  into  the  water,  and 
contained  a  total  of  more  than  40,000  letters. 
The  cold  weather  had  arrived  at  Paris,  then 
the  frosts.  The  ice  had  swept  away  the 
dams  and  stockades ;  the  net  could  not 
make  any  resistance  ;  everything  was  carried 
away ;  and  by  the  time  a  new  net  had  been 
got  ready,  the  armistice  was  signed.  And 
the  spheres — and  the  letters  ?  A  great  num- 
ber were  fished  up  in  the  Seine  and  on  the 


sea-coast.  The  balls  had  performed  their 
journey  so  well  that  the  sea,  at  high  tide, 
sent  them  back  again  on  the  shore.  Those 
thus  recovered  have  been  opened  and  the 
letters  distributed. 

And  this  is  the  way  in  which  the  letters 
for  Paris,  via  Moulins  (Allier),  ought  to  have 
reached  the  capital  in  proper  time,  if,  in  that 
unfortunate  year,  1870,  the  very  elements 
had  not  taken  sides  against  France. 

THE   HAITIAN  25  c.  STAMP 
RECONSIDERED. 

From  time  to  time  a  25  c.  stamp,  which  we 
have  persisted  in  believing  to  be  spurious, 
has  been  the  subject  of  discussion  ;  and  not 
a  few  collectors,  including  so  good  an 
authority  as  Mr.  Pemberton,  have  asserted 
their  faith  in  its  genuineness.  Mr.  Pemberton 
grounds  his  belief  on  the  remarks  of  Mr. 
William  Thomas  Kitt  (an  old  and  respected 
collector,  well  acquainted  with  Haitian 
affairs),  published  at  page  174  of  our  sixth 
volume.  Mr.  Kitt  says  that  the  device  on 
the  stamps  really  represents  the  armorial 
bearings  of  the  republic,  and  that  the  Haitian 
currency  being — in  contradistinction  to  that 
of  the  neighbouring  state  of  St.  Domingo — 
a  decimal  one,  modelled  on  that  of  the 
French,  it  was  only  natural  that  the  value 
should  be  expressed  in  cents  or  centimes. 
But  Mr.  Kitt,  on  the  other  hand,  observes, 
that  as  the  arms  are  those  of  the  republic, 
and  General  Salnave  had  just  changed  the 
form  of  government  from  a  republic  to  an 
empire,  the  stamp  in  question  could  at 
most  be  only  an  essay,  as  Salnave  would  not 
tolerate  the  emission  of  stamps  bearing 
republican  emblems.  Thus,  then,  the  au- 
thority on  whom  Mr.  Pemberton  most 
leans  is  more  against  than  for  the  stamp, 
and,  except  that  our  objection  to  the  denomi- 
nation of  value  is  overruled,  our  opinion 
of  the  character  of  the  stamp  remains  un- 
impeached ;  and  we  are  now  in  possession 
of  important  testimony  in  favour  of  our 
judgment,  in  the  shape  of  a  letter,  written 
by  the  British  Vice-Consul  and  Post-Office 
Agent  at  Port-au-Prince,  to  one  of  our  corre- 
spondents who  had  had  the  "happy  thought" 
of    inquiring    of    him    whether    he    knew 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


13 


anything  of  the  stamp, 
follows  : — 


His  letter  reads  as 


H.  B,  M.  Consulate  General, 
Port-au-Prince, 

November  8,  1871. 
Sir, — In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  10th  ult.,  1  have 
no  hesitation  in  stating  that  the  postage  stamps  you 
speak  of  tire  forgeries,  and  made  for  the  mere  purpose  of 
sale  to  persons  who,  like  yourself,  may  be  curious  in  such 
matters. 

I  have  been  resident  in  Hayti,  with  but  two  short 
intermissions,  for  nineteen  years ;  and  am  able,  conse- 
quently, to  state  very  positively  that  no  government  of 
that  country  has  ever  adopted  or  authorized  the  manu- 
facture of  any  postage  stamps  whatever.  I  should  be 
very  glad,  however,  if  you  would  send  me  a  specimen  of 
the  stamps  you  refer  to,  in  order  that  I  might  show  it  to 
the  government  of  this  country. 
I  am,  Sir, 

Yours,  faithfully, 

HENPY   BYRON, 
H.  M.'s  Yice-Consul  in  Hayti,  and  British 
Post-office  Agent  at  Port-au-Prince. 

ISTow  the  evidence  of  a  gentleman  who  has 
so  long  resided,  and  still  resides,  in  the  very 
town  in  which,  if  anywhere,  the  stamp  must 
have  been  used,  seems  to  us  conclusive  ;  and 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  seek  an  explanation 
of  the  issue  of  this  now  unquestionably 
spurious  impression.  Still  we  may  observe, 
that  in  1867  the  well-known  sham  2  reales 
carmine  of  St.  Domingo  made  its  appear- 
ance, and  was  so  extremely  well  got  up  that 
it  deceived  almost  everyone.  It  was  not 
only  that  the  design  accurately  represented 
the  arms,  but  the  obliterations  also  were  of 
a  nature  to  disarm  suspicion.  Seeing  that 
this  imposture  took  so  well,  what  is  more 
probable  than  that  its  concoctors  should  have 
turned  their  attention  to  the  fabrication  of 
an  equally  plausible  type  for  the  Haitian 
Republic  ;  or,  that  finding  this  second  hum- 
bug was  at  once  discredited,  they  should 
have  discontinued  to  print  it.  It  was  only  a 
twelvemonth  after  the  fraudulent  St.  Do- 
mingo was  launched  that  the  equally  frau- 
dulent Haitian  was  brought  upon  the 
market,  and  the  accuracy  with  which  the 
arms  of  the  republic  were  depicted,  and  the 
currency  adhered  to,  only  shows  that  the 
contrivers  of  the  sham  had  been  careful 
to  give  it  every  chance  of  success.  •  It 
could  be  a  matter  of  no  great  difficulty  to 
discover  what  were  the  true  armorial  bear- 
ings of  Haiti.  Mr.  Kitt  possesses  coins 
which  show  them  ;  and  other  persons  could, 
with  but  little  research,  discover  equally  au- 


thentic copies,  or  could  obtain  the  necessary 
information  from  books.  That  there  existed 
sufficient  obstacles  to  the  emission  of  stamps 
in  Haiti  during  the  years  1867-8,  is  proved 
by  a  letter  published  at  page  86  of  our 
fifth  volume,  in  which  the  writer,  dating 
from  Port-au-Prince  (March  20th,  1867), 
says  :— 

I  have  just  returned  from  Cape  Haitien,  and  did  not 
forget  to  make  the  inquiries  respecting  stamps  (which 
you  requested  me  to  do)  there,  as  well  as  in  Port-au-Prince. 
The  Haitian  government  is  too  much  occupied  with  in- 
ternal broils — in  the  shape  of  revolutions — to  give  much 
attention  to  postal  matters,  consequently  the  republic  of 
Haiti  cannot  at  present  boast  of  possessing  postage 
stamps. 

The  state  of  things  here  indicated  existed, 
until,  and  after,  the  appearance  of  the  illus- 
tration of  the  stamp  in  our  pages,  and  is 
testified  to  by  Mr.  Kitt,  in  the  letter  referred 
to  at  the  commencement  of  this  article. 

We  have  reason  to  give  a  pretty  shrewd 
guess  as  to  the  parentage  of  the  impostures. 
Boston,  of  course,  knows  all  about  them ; 
and  that  'cute  philatelist,  Mr.  S.  A.  Taylor, 
will  doubtless  be  able  to  supplement  our 
efforts  by  tracing  them  to  their  unclean 
source. 


POSTAL  CHIT-CHAT. 

Valuable  to  Catalogue  Makers. — The  inscription 
on  the  Chili  stamps  written  short, — '* ;"  (colon). 

The  Swiss  Travelling  Post-office. — Letters  posted 
at  the  station  whence  the  travelling  van  starts,  are 
stamped  with  the  word  "  Ambulant,"  and  a  number. 

Wrappers  from  which  the  contents  have  slipped  out 
are  now  marked  at  the  post-office  with  a  handstamp 
consisting  of  the  inscription,  found  in  n.  p.  b.  without 
contents,  and  also  with  another  stamp — a  linear  oblong, 
with  notched  corners,  bearing  within  the  letters  n.  p.  b. 
and  the  date.     They  are  then  sent  out  for  delivery. 

STAMPS  IN  LETTERS. 

It  seems  that  postmen,  evil  scamps, 
Steal,  because  they  can  smell,  our  stamps : 
Therefore,  when  sending  them,  you'd  better 
(A  lady  writes)  perfume  your  letter  : 
And  with  the  profit  be  content ; 
'Twill  be  a  case  of  sent  per  scent. — Punch. 

An  Odd  Postmark.— We  possess  the  envelope  of 
an  unstamped  letter  from  France,  bearing  a  handstamped 
upright  oval,  transversely  divided  by  a  bar,  above  which 
are  the  letters  fk.,  and  below  1F-  -50°-;  beside  this  oval 
is  a  large  handstamped  ''6d.  ;"  and  as  sixpence  was  all 
that  was  claimed,  we  should  like  to  know  wh}'  the  sum  of 
If.  oO  c.  was  mentioned.  A  sapient  French  postal  em- 
ploye told  us  it  was  always  put,  but  could  not  say  why  ; 
and  as  we  had  never  seen  it  before,  we  take  leave  to 
doubt  the  exactness  of  his  statement. 


14 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


The  "  Fiji  Times." — This  paper  enjoys  the  distinction 
of  having  had  a  set  of  postage  stamps  issued  for  its  exclusive 
benefit.  The  type  was  figured  in  our  May  number,  and 
we  now  extract  from  The  Printers'  Register  respecting 
this  highly-honoured  paper,  and  its  editor's  trials  : — 

"  There  is  only  one  newspaper  published  in  the  Fiji 
islands,  and  it  is,  of  course,  called  the  Times.  The 
gentleman  who  edits  it  appears  to  be  held  in  high 
estimation  by  the  white  settlers,  for  the  Fiji  Times  is 
the  court  of  appeal  in  all  cases  of  dispute.  Unfortunately, 
however,  the  editor's  decision  is  not  always  accepted  as 
final;  and  it  occasionally  happens  that  the  parties  non- 
suited fall  upon  the  umpire  and  grievously  beat  him. 
Thus,  at  the  date  of  the  last  advices,  the  editor  had  been 
'  assaulted  thrice  in  three  weeks — once  by  the  Consul's 
secretary,  once  by  a  sea  captain,  and  once  by  the  post- 
master.' It  is  evident  that  if  matters  go  on  at  this  rate, 
there  will  shortly  be  a  vacancy  on  the  staff  of  the  leading 
journal  in  the  Fijis,  and  a  favourable  opening  made  for 
a  series  of  '  gentlemen  of  literary  tastes '  who  find  the 
home  market  overstocked." 

Curious  Addresses  on  Letters.— Some  time  about 
the  first  decade  of  the  present  century,  a  letter  arrived  at 
the  post-office,  Edinburgh,  bearing  the  Inverness  post- 
mark, with  the  following  address: — "Here  she  goes  to 
Embro  to  Donal  my  brother  chairman  to  a  chairmans 
master  up  a  close  and  down  a  stair  if  this  no  find  him  the 
Deil  no  find  him."  The  letter  was  exhibited  in  the  shop- 
window  of  a  confectioner  in  the  upper  end  of  JS or thb ridge- 
street,  where  the  Highland  porters  usually  congregate,  in 
expectation  of  its  being  claimed  by  the  rightful  owner. — 

Messrs.  Mac  Arthur,  Mac  Vicar,  and  Mac  Corquodale, 
stationers  in  Liverpool,  a  few  years  since,  duly  replied  to  a 
letter  addressed  to  Mac  Adder,  Mac  Viper,  and  Mac 
Crocodile. 

The  following  was  received  by  a  relative  of  a  corre- 
spondent : — 

Dear,  honest  Postman,  be  so  kind 
To  take  this  to  a  friend,  of  mine  ; 
She  is  a  Fox,  Lucy's  her  name, 
In  Swallow  street  you'll  find  the  same ; 
She  is  a  little  cruel  toad, 
And  lives  not  far  from  Oxford  road. 
— Notes  and  Queries. 


THE  DEAD  LETTER. 

BY  JOHN   G.    SAXE. 

And  can  it  be  ?    Ah,  yes,  1  see, 

'Tis  thirty  years  and  better 
Since  Mary  Morgan  sent  to  me 

This  musty,  musky  letter. 
A  pretty  hand  (she  couldn't  spell), 

As  any  man  must  vote  it ; 
And  was't,  I  remember  well, 

A  pretty  hand  that  wrote  it ! 

How  calmly  now  I  view  it  all, 

As  memory  backward  ranges — 
The  talks,  the  walks,  that  I  recall, 

And  then — the  postal  changes! 
How  well  I  loved  her  I  can  guess 

(Since  cash  is  Cupid's  hostage) — 
Just  one-and-sixpence — nothing  less- 

This  letter  cost  in  postage  ! 

The  love  that  wrote  at  such  a  rate, 
(By  Jove  !  it  was  a  steep  one  !) 

Five  hundred  notes  (I  calculate), 
Was  certainly  a  deep  one; 


And  yet  it  died — of  slow  decline — 
Perhaps  suspicion  chilled  it ; 

I've  quite  forgotten  if  'twas  mine 
Or  Mary's  flirting  killed  it ! 

At  last  the  fatal  message  came  ; 

•'My  letters — please  return  them  ; 
And  yours — of  course  >  ou  wish  the  sarae- 

I'll  send  them  back  or  burn  them." 
Two  precious  fools,  I  must  allow, 

Whichever  was  the  greater  ; 
I  wonder  if  I'm  wiser  now. 

Some  seven  lustres  later  ? 

And  this  alone  remains !    Ah,  well ! 

These  words  of  warm  affection, 
The  faded  ink,  the  pungent  smell, 

Are  food  for  deep  reflection. 
They  tell  of  how  the  heart  contrives 

To  change  with  fancy's  fashion, 
And  how  a  drop  of  musk  survives 

The  strongest  human  passion. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 
TRANSVAAL  ENVELOPE  AND  GERMANIC  CARDS. 

To  the  Editor  of  "  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — I  cannot  claim  the  credit  or  discredit  of 
denying  the  authenticity  of  the  ladies'  size  South  African 
envelopes,  which  I  received  direct  from  the  postmaster  as 
a  genuine  postal  emission.  The  reply  to  C.  "W.,  in  the 
November  number  of  The  Philatelist,  as  well  as  the  re- 
view of  Brown's  Price  Catalogue,  were  penned  by  some 
other  hand.  I  should  not  have  used  such  an  expression 
as  "  miserable  Germanic  cards ; "  believing,  as  I  do,  that, 
notwithstanding  their  want  of  facial  beauty,  being  em- 
ployed for  strictly  postal  purposes  on  government  author- 
ity, they  are,  and  should  be,  equally  interesting  to  col- 
lectors, in  a  philatelic  point  of  view,  with  the  black  Nova 
Scotians,  or  the  most  exquisite  productions  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bank  Note  Company. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  yours  faithfully, 
THE  EDITOR  OF  TEE  PHILATELIST. 


ECUADOR  AND  BOLIVIAN  VARIETIES. 
To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir,  —By  the  last  mail  from  Panama,  I  received 
the  2  and  4  rls.  of  Ecuador  on  bluish,  instead  of  white 
paper.  It  is  just  possible  that  the  remaining  values  may 
also  have  appeared  on  the  same  paper. 

I  have  noticed  lately,  that  the  Bolivian  dollar  pieces, 
coined  in  this  year,  have  eleven  stars,  instead  of  the 
ordinary  number,  nine.  The  same  difference  has  been 
noticed  in  the  stamps  (see  August  Philatelist). 

Now,  as  both  coins  and  stamps  bear  the  arms  of  Bolivia 
(and  not  a  landscape,  as  described  in  all  the  stamp 
catalogues  that  I  have  seen),  and  as  the  nine  stars 
represent  the  nine  departments  into  which  the  country  is 
(or  was)  divided,  it  is  evident  that  there  must  be  some 
cause  for  this  addition  to  the  arms  ;  and  though  I  live  in 
a  neighbouring  republic,  I  have  read  nought  in  the  papers 
about  an  augmentation  of  the  number  of  Bolivian 
provinces. 

The  Bolivian  stamps  with  eleven  stars,  may  therefore, 
I  think,  be  accepted  as  belonging  to  a  new  issue. 
Yours  obediently, 

Valparaiso.  F.   W.  M. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


15 


BOYD'S  EXPRESS   STAMPS. 
To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — Since  writing  last  month,  I  have  obtained 
proof  of  the  authenticity  of  Mr.  Coster's  second  type, 
then  disbelieved  in  by  me.  Having  seen  this  type  in  a 
genuine  cancelled  state,  my  doubts  are  set  at  rest,  and  I 
now  acknowledge  its  true  worth.  The  following  is  a 
correct  description  of  it :  Ground  plain ;  head  of  eagle 
thin  and  pointed,  left  wing  pressing  against  the  border ; 
more  than  half  of  the  globe  shown,  and  with  oblique 
shading  at  top  and  on  right  side ;  middle  line  of  longi- 
tude carried  through  the  outer  oval,  and  touching  the 
figure  ;  no  stops ;  central  oval  with  line  outside,  and 
outer  oval  with  line  inside. 

Even  as  I  correct  others,  so  I  correct  myself. 

I  see  that  want  of  space  caused  you  somewhat  to  con- 
dense my  last  paper.  One  sentence  in  particular  has 
been  expunged,  which,  in  justice  to  myself,  I  must  now 
set  light. 

Relative  to  the  fictitious  locals,  I  wrote,  "  All  the  fol- 
lowing are,  i"  fully  believe,  purely  imaginary  labels  of 
imaginary  companies."  The  omission  of  the  words  in 
italics  made  me  the  author  of  an  unqualified  assertion, 
admitting  of  no  doubt,  when  1  simply  meant  to  register  a 
certain  belief. 

Yours  faithfully, 

Birmingham.  W.  DUDLEY  ATLEE. 


DOUBTFUL  ERRORS  IN  IMPRESSION, 
To  the  Editor  o/"The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — I  find  in  glancing  over  some  old  numbers, 
that  at  page  42  of  the  last  volume  a  sharp-eyed  corre- 
spondent thought  he  had  discovered  some  mysterious 
figures  (10)  representing  the  month  of  issue  in  each  cor- 
ner of  the  new  halfpenny.  I  have  always  viewed  these 
with  suspicion,  as  it  requires  a  slight  effort  of  imagination 
to  make  them  into  10,  the  1  being  anything  but  clear. 
I  have  many  times  studied  these  mysterious  markings  in 
copies  which  have  come  before  me,  and  have  at  last  got  a 
clue  which  enables  me  to  say  pretty  conclusively  that 
these  so-called  figures  are  mere  accidental  results  of  the 
pattern  composing  the  background.  If  you  will  now 
examine  a  specimen,  you  will  find  that  these  markings 
are  repeated  at  regular  intervals  above  and  below  those  in 
the  corners,  so  far  as  the  medallion  in  centre  permits 
them  to  be  seen  ;  and,  moreover,  at  both  sides  of  stamp, 
both  above  and  below,  may  be  seen  between  the  two 
marks  which  have  been  called  figures  1  (though  they  are 
more  like  3's)  a  similar  mark  inverted,  as  if  they  were  in- 
tended as  a  sort  of  finish  to  the  horizontal  lines  of  the 
background.  This  is  only  a  small  matter,  but  may, 
perhaps,  interest  you. 

North  German  Confederation. — In  vol.  viii.,  p.  90, 
I  notice,  in  the  mention  of  the  varieties  with  shaded 
figure  of  the  1  groschen,  which  I  pointed  out  to  you,  that 
you  say  that  you  have  never  come  across  a  specimen  of 
the  envelope  with  shaded  figure.  I  may  say  that  I  do 
not  remember  to  have  seen  a  copy  without  the  shaded 
figure. 

France.— The  varieties  of  the  laureated  series  of  the 
Empire  with  lined  background  are  clearly  the  result  of 
some  peculiarity  in  the  process  of  printing,  and  not  of  an 
alteration  in  the  die.  If  you  will  examine  a  specimen, 
you  will  find  the  lines  are  visible  wherever  there  is  a 
sufficient  surface  of  colour  to  show  them  ;  in  the  borders, 
&c,  as  well  as  in  the  circle  containing  the  head. 


I  have  a  30  c.  which  has  the  lines  quite  distinct  on  the 
right-hand  side  of  stamp,  and  scarcely  visible  on  the  left. 
This  easily  accounts  for  the  80  c.  existing  with  the  lines 
running  vertically,  instead  of  horizontally. 
I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Yours  truly, 

Manchester.  J-  C. 

P.  S.— The  25  soldi  of  the  current  Austrian  series, 
arriving  by  the  last  Turkish  mails,  is  purple-black  ;  have 
you  met  with  this  variety  yet  ? 


THE  ARRANGEMENT  OF  A  COLLECTION. 
To  the  Editor  of-  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — It  seems  to  me  very  difficult  to  limit  and 
complete  one's  collection  ;  shades  and  varieties  of  colour 
are  constantly  turning  up  that  one  cannot  discard,  and 
yet  they  necessitate  the  rearrangement  of  a  page  or  more 
in  one's  album,  if  one  wishes  to  keep  the  specimens  in 
their  proper  order. 

My  stamps  are  all  hinged  with  tissue  paper  to  the 
paper  itself  (a  plain  book) ;  but  I  have  for  some  time 
past  wanted  to  move  them  into  another  album,  and  am 
desirous  of  getting  the  right  and  last  one  this  time. 

Can  you  inform  me  what  the  principle  of  the  "crotchet" 
sj^stem  is  ?  As  to  mounting  the  stamps  on  card,  and  then 
affixing  these  to  the  album,  I  do  not  think  the  plan  a 
good  one  at  all ;  the  book  must  necessarily  be  very  bulgy, 
and  the  card  mounts  would  tend  to  keep  the  leaves  apart, 
and  admit  dust  and  damp. 

I  have  never  seen  the  stamps  mounted  as  described 
some  time  ago  in  your  magazine,  by  cutting  out  a  square 
hole,  and  then  just  gumming  the  edge  of  the  stamp  (I 
allude  to  the  description  of  the  double-card  sheets  with 
eyelet-holes),  but  should  fancy  the  stamp  would  not  show 
up  at  all  well,  having  no  background,  and  in  many  cases 
being,  perhaps,  just  over  a  stamp  (on  .the  next  sheet)  of 
quite  another  colour.  I  think,  however,  the  rims  round 
each  sheet  a  capital  idea  to  keep  out  dust,  and  prevent 
pressure  on  the  stamps  themselves  (though  those  not  em- 
bossed often  look  the  better  for  it).  The  great  difficulty, 
to  my  mind,  in  getting,  say,  one  issue  all  in  order,  is  this : 
you  get  two  or  three  distinct  shades  of  one  colour,  and 
supposing  there  are  shades  of  other  colours,  you  leave 
room  for  them  also  ;  perhaps  they  never  turn  up,  and  the 
vacant  space  looks  unsightly ;  or,  it  may  be,  you  do  not 
leave  room  for  them,  having  no  idea  they  existed  ;  and, 
to  your  surprise,  they  turn  up  quite  unexpectedly,  and 
you  have  to  alter  a  whole  page  or  more. 

"What  is  wanted,  is  a  method  of  securely  holding  the 
stamps  to  the  page,  and  yet  the  power  to  move  them 
from  place  to  place.     This  I  suppose  is  unattainable. 

I  have  sometimes  thought  that  it  would  be  a  good 
plan  to  cut  strips  of  pure  white  paper,  about  an  inch 
broad,  and,  say,  3  inches  shorter  than  the  Avidth  of  the 
album  page  ;  then  attach  the  stamps  to  the  bottom  of  it, 
in  a  row,  and  fix  the  strips  to  the  page,  one  under  the 
other,  by  means  of  a  touch  of  gum  at  each  end  ;  they 
could  then  be  easily  moved  or  altered,  and  any  description 
necessary  could  be  neatly  written  over  each  stamp. 

I  shall  esteem  it  a  great  favour  if  you  will  kindly  give 
me  your  advice  on  the  matter. 

Apologizing  for  this  lengthy  and  troublesome  epistle, 
I  am,  Sir, 

Yours  very  faithfully, 

ITomerton,  London.  E.  S. 


16 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


A  QUERY  RESPECTING  A  20  CENTIME  OF  THE 

PRESENT  FRENCH. 
To  the  Editor  of  "The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Deau  Sir,—  in  your  September  number  is  the  following 
extract  from  a  Parisian  newspaper: — "Paris  is  now 
surlering  from  an  inundation  of  false  10  and  20  centime 
postage  stamps.  These  stamps  are,  it  appears,  obtained 
from  new  dies,  with  the  effigy  of  the  republic,  which  have 
been  stolen.  They  can  with"  difficulty  be  recognised;  one 
single  detail  of  engraving,  uncompleted  at  the  time  of  the 
theft,  distinguishes  them  from  the  genuine  impressions." 

This  account  of  these  dubious  labels  is  so  vague  and 
valueless  to  collectors,  that  I  have  been  endeavouring  to 
procure  specimens  of  the  impostures  themselves,  so  that  I 
might  afford  some  tangible  help  to  their  detection.  After 
considerable  trouble  and  inquiry  I  have  obtained  what  I 
think  must  be  the  soi  disant  20 "c.  I  believe  this,  because 
it  has  every  appearance  of  being  from  the  unfinished  ma- 
trix, and  because  copies  of  it  are  so  difficult  to  find.  I 
shall  give  the  leading  discrepancies  between  it  and  the 
undoubtedly  genuine  stamp,  in  the  hope  that  my  remarks 
may  elicit  the  required  information.  These  differences  are, 
to  use  a  hackneyed  expression,  more  apparent  than  real, 
and  it  is  no  easy  task  to  seize  upon  any  salient  peculiarity. 

As  every  collector  has  the  acknowledged  stamp,  I  need 
not  describe  its  details,  but  will  simply  state  in  what 
points  the  queried  label  varies  from  it. 

The  shading  in  the  latter,  upon  the  chin  and  neck  of 
the  profile,  is  not  so  prominent  as  in  the  recognised  die 
and  the  hair  is  indistinctly  shown,  instead  of  being  carried 
almost  unbroken  from  the  crown.  Through  the  lack  of 
shading,  and  the  blurred  condition  of  the  ears  of  wheat, 
the  head  has  a  depressed  appearance,  although  it  in  reality 
is  the  same.  In  the  ordinary  die  there  are  several  dots 
running  obliquely  above  the  eye,  and  between  that  organ 
and  the  nasal  one;  with  the  exception  of  a  few  minute 
specks  under  the  eye,  they  are  wanting  in  the  copy  under 
surveillance.  The  spandrels  are  very  poor,  but  this  defect 
is  noticeable  in  a  lesser  degree  upon  some  of  the  later- 
printed  stamps.  A  marked  variation  is  traceable  in  the 
beads  surrounding  the  circle.  In  each  there  are  ninety- 
eight  ;  but,  whereas  in  the  Simon  Pure  these  are  of  uni- 
form size,  and  at  equal  distances  apart,  in  the  doubtful 
label  they  often  run  into  the  white  linear  circle,  and  into 
each  other.  The  bead  upon  the  right-hand  side,  on  a  level 
with  the  fifth  horizontal  line  from  the  bottom  of  the 
Etruscan  border,  is  prominently  out  of  its  position,  being 
farther  off  the  circle  than  its  companions. 

The  paper  used  is  thin  and  bluish,  but,  strange  to  say 
(if  it  is  from  the  stolen  die),  the  perforation  is  exactly  like 
that  upon  the  known  genuine. 

Borne  really  reliable  particulars  concerning  the  origin 
of  this  doubted  stamp  are  much  needed. 
Yours  faithfullv, 

Birmingham.  W.  DUDLEY   ATLEE. 


MORE  VARIETIES   OF  THE  PROVISIONAL 
NATALS. 

To  the  Editor  of "  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Sni.  -Thinking  that  some  of  your  readers  would  like 
to  know  Borne  of  the  varieties  of  the  provisional  Natals, 
we  give  the  following  description  of  those  we  have  ^cvn 
up  to  date.  Aa  you  have,  in  a  former  letter,  had  the  Id. 
and  3d.,  we  begin  with  the  6d. 

1. — That  with  POSTAGE  printed  with  black  ink,  below 
the  face  of  Queen,  in  thick,  short  capitals, — mauve. 

2.— That  with  postage  printed  with  black  ink  across 


the  crown ;  the  P  of  the  postage  a  capital,  the  other  letters 
small,  and  of  unequal  thickness. 

3. — That  with  postage  printed  across  the  crown,  the 
same  as  No.  2,  but  the  letters  thicker  and  longer.  No.  2 
and  3  are  lilac. 

4. — That  with  postage  printed  with  black  ink  across 
the  crown,  in  thick,  short  capitals, — mauve. 

5. — The  same  as  No.  4,  but  lilac. 

6. — That  with  postage  printed  across  the  crown,  with 
black  ink,  in  thin,  long  capitals, — mauve. 

7. — The  same  as  No.  6,  but  lilac. 

8. — The  same  as  No.  2,  but  mauve. 

Of  the  Is.,  we  have  seen  three  varieties,  viz., — 
1. — Thai  with  postage  printed  with  black  ink,  below 
the  face  of  Queen,  in  thick,  short  capitals. 

2. — That  with  postage  printed  with  black  ink  across 
the  crown,  with  thick,  short  capitals. 

3. — That  with  postage  in  a  curve,  below  the  face, 
printed  in  green  ink. 

receipt  stamps. 
We  have  seen  two  varieties  of  the  Id.  embossed  Natal 
receipt  stamp,  viz., — 

1. — Yellow,  rect.,  perf.,  oblong;  size  l]|inch  bylginch. 
2. — Orange,  rect.,  perf.,  oblong ;  size,  1/g  inch,  by  1  inch. 
Both  the  above  are  obsolete. 

By  inserting  this  in  the  next  number  of  your  valuable 
magazine,  you  will  oblige 

Yours  faithfullv, 

PHILIP  F.   PAYN. 
L.  R    GORDON. 
H    HOLLIDAY, 
VINCENT  J.   GORDON. 
E.    CROMPTON. 
Pine  Town. 
Pietermaritzburg. 

P.  S. — Since  writing  the  above,  we  have  seen  two  more 
varieties  of  the  3d.  blue,  viz., — 

1. — That  with  postage  printed  with  black  ink  across 
the  crown  ;  the  P  of  the  postage  a  capital,  the  other  letters 
small,  but  of  equal  thickness. 

2. — That  with  postage  printed  with  black  ink  across 
the  crown,  in  thin,  long  capitals. 


ANSWERS  TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 

B.  H.,  Braintree.— The  New  South  Wales  and  South 
Australian  varieties,  to  which  you  are  kind  enough  to 
call  our  attention,  have  been  already  described. 

Rev.  K.  D.,  Bedworth. — The  bro'ad-arrow  perforation, 
as  a  cancelling  mark  for  post  cards,  is  perhaps  unusual, 
but  not  new.  It  was  noticed  and  figured  on  page  42  of 
our  last  volume. 

H.  P.,  London. — AVe  should  think  either  Moens  or  the 
"  V.R."  album  would  suit  you,  though  the  step  you  propose 
taking  in  removing  your  stamps  from  a  blank  to  a  ruled 
album  is,  generally  speaking,  a  retrograde  one. 

F.  H.  S.,  Carlsruhe. — Thanks  for  the  information 
respecting  the  German  stamps.  There  is  not  any  3 
centime  stamp  for  the  French  republic  in  existence  at 
present,  but  we  should  think  that  that  value  would  be 
found  in  the  forthcoming  series. 

Charles  B.,  Canonbury,  London. — Your  Fenian  essay, 
with  harp  in  centre,  is  a  spurious  one.  and  therefore  of  no 
real  value.  The  other  stamp  you  describe  can  hardly 
have  been  issued  by  the  factious  brotherhood,  inscribed  as 
it  is  correos,  and'  20  c.  d'esco.  You  had  better  send  it 
to  us  for  examination. 


Natal. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


17 


mmm 


NEWLY-ISSUED    OR   INEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Fur  Islands. — The  great  sensation  in  phi- 
latelic circles  during  the  last  month  has  been 
the  arrival  of  specimens  of  the  newl y-issued 
Fijian  stamps  proper.  Our  New  York  con- 
temporary was  the  first  to  publish  the 
rumour  of  a  forthcoming  issue,  and  we 
quoted  his  information  in  our  last ;  it  is, 
however,  the  reverse  of  accurate  as  to  the 
design  and  values.  The  new  stamps  do  not 
bear  Thakombau's  portrait,  and  their  de- 
nominations are  not  3,  5,  and  10  cents. 
Whether  they  came  into  use  on  the  1st  of 
October,  or  not,  we  are  not  in  a  position  to 
decide,  but  already  two  series  have  been 
printed,  and  the  first  of  them  is  rare.  Both 
bear  the  design  here  repre- 
sented, and  the  values  and 
colours  are  the  same.  The 
difference  between  them  con- 
sists in  that  the  second  series 
is  surcharged,  in  black  ink, 
with  the  denomination  in 
cents.  The  words  "two,"  "six,"  or  "twelve," 
are  above  the  crown,  and  "  cents  "  below  the 
initials ;  and  we  may  suggest  that  the  decimal 
equivalents  of  our  English  pence  have  been 
added  to  satisfy  the  American  colonists  in 
Fiji.     The  colours  are  as  follows  : — 

One  penny     (2  cents)  light  blue  on  white. 
Threepence   (6      „     )  light  green      „ 
Sixpence       (12     ,,     )  rose  „ 

The  frame  differs  in  each  value  ;  the  circle 
is  beaded  in  the  penny,  notched  in  the  three- 
pence, and  scalloped  in  the  sixpence  ;  and  the 
highest  value  is  further  distinguished  from 
the  others  by  the  word  Fiji  being  in  white 
letters  on  coloured  ground,  the  band  on 
which  it  appears  having  also  different  end 
ornaments.  The  central  device  is  simple, 
but  the  letters  OR.  are  very  puzzling,  and  we 
are  quite  unable  to  explain  their  signifi- 
cation— Qy.,  Christopherus  Rex?  On  the 
sixpence  the  crown  and  initials  are  enclosed 
in  a  hexagon,  faintly  scratched  over  the 
ground  of  the  disk. 

The  first  issue   (without  surcharge)  was 
perforated,  and  as  only  one  batch  was  printed, 

VOL.  X.    No.  109. 


very  few  copies  are  now  to  be  had.  The 
second  series  we  are  describing  from  speci- 
mens cut  from  the  proof  sheet,  and  obliging- 
ly communicated  to  us  by  a  correspondent 
at  Sydney,  where  the  stamps  have  been 
designed  and  printed.  These  proof  impres- 
sions are,  of  course,  unperforated ;  but  the 
issued  stamps  will  be  perforated,  like  their 
predecessors.  The  impression  is  clear  ;  and 
the  surcharge  is  in  ordinary  Roman  old-style 
type. 

The  Fiji  Times  stamps,  we  learn  from  our 
new  Birmingham  contemporary,  were  issued 
by  the  proprietors  of  the  paper,  under  the 
superintendence  of  the  British  consul.  This 
information  is  not  so  precise  as  we  could 
wish.  We  should  like  to  know  in  what 
sense,  and  for  what  reason,  the  consul  "  su- 
perintended "  the  issue.  Had  he  a  control 
over  the  numbers  printed,  and  was  the 
postal  service  (conducted,  we  presume,  by 
means  of  the  mail-steamer  from  Sydney) 
initiated  or  regulated  by  him?  Further- 
more, for  whose  profit  were  the  stamps 
issued  ? 

Our  contemporary  suggests  that  this 
series  is  now  obsolete,  but  we  can  hardly 
assume  this  to  be  the  fact  until  we  know 
how  the  regular  Fijian  stamps  are  to  be 
employed ;  and  there  is  one  important 
point  in  connection  with  this  matter  to 
which  we  think  it  right  to  refer — we  mean, 
the  possibility  of  the  Fiji  Times  stamps, 
especially  if  they  are  obsolete,  being  multi- 
plied ad  infinitum  by  reprinting.  The  sale 
of  several  thousand  copies,  even  at  prices  far 
below  their  facial  value,  would  be  no  despic- 
able source  of  revenue  to  the  proprietors  of 
a  journal  whose  circulation  cannot  be  other 
than  limited,  and  with  reprinting  would 
come  all  manner  of  paper  varieties  and 
printer's  errors. 

With  a  view  to  restrict  the  chances  of 
success  of  such  possible  reimpressions,  wo 
place  on  record  a  list  of  the  existing  varieties, 
copied  from  The  Philatelical  Journal.  They 
are  as  follows,  all  black  on  pink  paper,  and 
rouletted  on  a  dotted  line. 

Paper — quadrille     Id.,  3d.,  Gd.,   1/-. 

laid  Id.,  3d.,  6d.,  9d.,  1/-. 

„         hatonne       Id.,  3d.,  6d.,  9d.,  1/-. 


18 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


Yen i  zuela. — The  design  here  represented 
is  that  of  a  s^aiip  which,  we  are  informed 
by  the  correspondent  from 
whom  we  received  the 
sole  specimen  we  possess, 
came  from  Venezuela.  It 
is  printed  in  yellow  on  thin 
wove  paper,  and  across  the 
centre  of  the  stamp  are  two 
rather  faint  horizontal  black 
and  apparently  type-printed 
lines.  We  observe  traces  of  similar  lines 
just  over  the  upper  edge  and  also  along  the 
lower  margin,  but  cannot  say  whether  or  not 
these  lines  are  intended  as  obliterations  ;  in 
fact,  when  we  have  added  that  the  stamp  is 
imperforated  and  unwatermarked,  we  have 
said  all  we  know  about  it.  We  have  not 
had  time  to  ascertain  whether  "Escuelas"  is 
one  of  the  Venezuelan  provinces  or  states, 
and  we  solicit  information  on  this  point,  as  also 
respecting  the  name  and  claims  to  notoriety  of 
the  person  represented.  The  stamp  has  a 
genuine  look,  but  our  correspondent  may 
have  been  imposed  on,  and  it  is  not  entitled 
to  a  certificate  of  merit  until  its  authenticity 
is  proved.* 

Western  Australia. — We  annex  an  en- 
graving of. a  stamp  for  this  colony  which 
has  just  made  its  appear- 
ance, and  is  principally 
intended,  as  our  corres- 
pondent at  Perth,  W.  A., 
informs  us,  to  be  used  for 
postage  on  intercolonial 
letters.  The  design  is 
finely  engraved,  the  bird's  plumage  being 
admirably  depicted  ;  and  it  will  be  observed 
that  the  reeds,  which  seem  to  be  included  in 
the  Western  Australian  arms,  form  a  neat 
frame  to  the  oval.  By-the-way,  we  should 
like  to  know  why  the  reeds,  as  we  call  them, 
are  thus  represented;  surely  not  merely  for 
: al  effect  ;  do  they  then  indicate  a 
colonial  staple  ?  The  colour  of  this  elegant 
addition  to  our  Swan  River  sets  is  a  kind  of 


miiwi.w     >i.iui|i,    i-.\n|»ui;     ini:     ICJJC11U,    which    \\  C    lt'iCIYCU 

.    .  M.  -.  .-  an  i  ssaj 

ity  of  which  he  *<.n~'nl  ired  in  r ■•  than 

!:  his 


salmon-tinged  brown, —  a  hue,  indeed,  very 
difficult  to  describe  accurately.  It  is  sur- 
face-printed, and  the  usual  perforations  and 
the  crown  and  cc  watermark  form  the 
stamp's  appurtenances. 

Switzerland. — Maderanerthal. — About  ten 
miles  south  of  the  lake  of  Lucerne  is  Amsteg, 
to  the  east  of  which  lies  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
Swiss  valleys — the  Maderan- 
erthal, which  would  probably 
have  long  since  numbered 
among  the  lions  of  the  coun- 
try, but  for  its  comparative 
inaccessibility,  there  being  no 
outlets  from  it,  except  by 
glacier  passes.  Seven  years  ago  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  White  Cross  at  Amsteg  built  an 
hotel,  Zum  Sclmeizen  Alpent-club,  with  about 
50  beds,  on  a  hillock  in  the  valley  about  2^ 
hours  up,  and  about  eighteen  months  back 
this  hotel  was  enlarged  to  nearly  twice  the 
size.  It  was  then,  our  informant  believes, 
that  the  stamp  here  represented  was  en- 
graved, ostensibly,  as  we  presume,  to  prepay 
postage  from  the  hotel  to  Amsteg,  but  in 
reality,  we  are  inclined  to  think,  as  an 
advertisement.  A  traveller  who  would  give 
no  more  than  a  halfpenny  for  carrying  a  letter 
a  two  hours'  descent  over  rocks  must  have 
queer  notions  of  liberality,  and  it  is  hardly 
likely  small  Swiss  hotel-keepers  would  be 
content  with  such  small  remuneration.  Per- 
haps the  Rigi-Kaltbad  establishment  is  large 
enough  to  make  it  worth  while  to  establish  a 
kind  of  private  mail  service,  but  we  now  lean 
to  the  belief  that  such  stamps  as  the  Rigi  and 
the  Maderanerthal  are  really  issued  to  serve 
as  an  advertisement  to  the  hotel-keepers  and 
a  gratification  to  their  guests,  who  are  pleased 
with  the  idea  of  putting  them  on  their  letters 
for  England  or  other  parts.  However,  we 
deem  it  our  duty  to  notice  the  new  comer, 
which  is  printed  in  ultramarine  on  white, 
and  may  add  that  it  is  not  likely  to  be 
very  common.  Our  correspondent,  who 
received  his  specimen  on  a  letter  in  Sep- 
tember, 1870,  says,  "  I  am  afraid  that  un- 
expected misfortunes,  as  the  Franco-Prus- 
sian war,  have  crippled  the  prospects  of  the 
hotel." 

The  "2~>  c.  envelope  of  the  Swiss  republic 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


19 


is  now  printed  sea-green.  We  lately  met 
with  a  postmarked  30  c.  envelope,  which 
we  keep  as  a  curiosity. 

Sweden. — We  are  not  yet  in  possession  of 
the  new  adhesive  stamps  for  this  country,  but 
we  are  enabled  to  give  an 
engraving  of  a  new  en- 
velope stamp.  In  shape, 
it  is  a  transverse  oval  ; 
three  crowns,  two  above 
and  one  below,  occupy 
the  centre,  and  a  small 
transverse  oval  disk  on  either  side  bears  a 
post-horn.  The  word  sverige  runs  round 
the  upper  half,  and  the  value  in  words — tolf 
oke — fills  the  lower  half.  The  impression  is 
blue,  the  crowns  and  horns  are  in  white 
relief,  and  the  inscriptions  are  sunk  on  a 
white  reticulated  ground. 

At  the  last  moment  before  going  to  press, 
we  received  from  our  Stockholm  corres- 
pondent a  specimen  of  the  new  Swedish 
post  card,  which  turns  out  to  be  of  the  same 
value,  and  to  bear  the  same  design  as  the 
envelope  above  described  ;  but  the  blue  of 
the  post  card  is  of  a  much  darker  shade  than 
that  of  the  envelope.  The  stamp  is  im- 
pressed on  the  right  upper  corner  of  the 
card,  and  bad  taste  is  strikingly  shown  in 
printing  the  border  and  inscriptions  in 
mauve.  The  border,  which  is  an  important 
item  in  a  post  card,  is  extremely  neat,  and 
the  inscriptions  (brefkort,  &c.)  are  as  finely 
engraved  as  on  the  Finnish  post  card.  The 
card  is  white,  and  the  reverse  side  is  quite 
plain.  The  envelope,  we  may  mention,  en 
passant,  has  no  device  on  the  flap.  Both 
card  and  envelope  were  issued  on  the  11th 
January.  We  are  sorry  to  learn  that  the 
report  of  an  entirely  new  series  is  unfounded, 
our  correspondent  now  informs  us  that  only 
two  new  values  are  to  appear — 6  ore  and  1 
riksdaler — and  they  will  not  be  ready  for  a 
month  or  two.  Our  correspondent  offers  no 
explanation  of  the  issue  of  a  post  card  and  an 
envelope  of  identical  value. 

Russian  Locals. — Bogorodsk. — M.  Moens, 
remedying  his  omission  when  he  described 
the  envelope  for  this  district,  which  was 
figured  in  our  November  number,  states  that 
its  colour  is  blue,  varying  from  pale  to  bright. 
Charlioff. — Another    of   the   stamps    com- 


prised in  our. July  list  has  just  come  over, 
and  is  here  represented.  It  is  printed  in 
pale  to  bright  red,  and  "  each 
specimen  is  surcharged  in 
black  with  a  portion  of  the 
third  word,  and  the  whole  of 
the  last,  of  the  inscription,  in 
a  linear  oblong,  placed  diag- 
onally on  stamp ;  "  so  says 
our  Birmingham  contem- 
porary; but  this  surcharge 
must  be  a  postmark,  as  our  correspondent 
does  not  speak  about  it.  It  will  be  observed 
that  there  is  a  very  striking  similarity 
between  this  stamp  in  its  general  dispositions 
and  the  5  kop.  of  Bogorodsk  (see  vol.  vii., 
p.  105)  ;  the  size,  the  central  oval,  the  star 
at  the  bottom  of  the  oval,  the  corner 
numerals,  and  the  waved  outer  lines,  are 
common  to  both,  and  we  are  half  per- 
suaded they  must  be  the  work  of  the  same 
artist. 

Confederate  States. — Many  locals  have 
been  recently  discovered  in  the  Southern 
States,  and  the  two  here  represented  have 
been  only  known  for  a  comparatively  short 
period.      Both    are    really    rare,    and    the 


c&ELEASANTSHADE.g0 

<a      viirtnia .      ?& 
%  Post  Office,  g 

J|r  .E  .  DAVIS .  P .  M .  ^3 


D.PENCE.RM 


Rheatown  has  already  been  the  subject  of 
the  forgers'  delicate  attentions.  They  carry 
their  history  on  their  face,  and  we  need  only 
say  that  the  Pleasapt  Shade  is  printed  in 
light  blue,  and  the  Rheatown  in  red. 

Brazil. — In  The  Stamp- Colllector's  Maga- 
zine for  August  last,  we  quoted  from  the  New 
York  journal  a  description  of  a  new  300  reis 
adhesive  for  this  country  ;  the  oval  containing 
the  portrait  in  green,  the  frame  in  violet. 

The  Rio  correspondent  of  our  Birmingham 
contemporary  denies  its  existence,  but  our 
own  correspondent  at  Rio,  has  seen  it  at  the 
post-office,  though  it  is  not  yet  issued  to  the 
public.  He  fully  endorses  the  encomiums 
passed  on  its  appearance  by   the  American 


20 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


Journal  of  Philately,  but  says  the  outer  frame 
is  printed  in  orange-yellow,  and  not  in  violet. 
Tr  is  therefore  probable  that  the  last-named 
journal  described  from  a  proof.  Our  corres- 
pondent states  that  the  300  reis  stamp, 
which  equals  in  value  15  cents,  will  be 
employed  for  the  postage  on  letters  between 
Brazil  and  the  States. 

The  Deutsche  Briefmarken  Ze thing  states 
that  a  postal  treaty  between  Germany  and 
Brazil  has  been  signed,  fixing  the  rate  for 
letters  between  the  two  countries  at  15  sgr., 
or  about  720  reis ;  so  that  another  new 
stamp  will  probably  be  required. 

Egypt. — We  have  been  officially  informed 
of  a  new  emission  of  stamps  for  this 
province,  and  having  been  favoured  with  a 
complete  set,  we  now  proceed  to  describe 
them. 

The  design  is  very  similar  to  the  late 
series,  but  the  sphinx  is  to  the  left  of  the 
pyramid,  instead  of  in  the  centre,  as  before  ; 
Pompey's  pillar  and  Cleopatra's  needle  are 
absent,  and  Arabic  and  Roman  inscriptions 
take  their  place ;  the  star  and  crescent  are 
represented  in  the  spandrels  ;  the  numerals 
of  value  occupy  each  corner,  and  the  lower 
margin  has  the  inscription,  foste  khedeuie 

EG1ZIAKE. 

The  series  consists  of  seven  values,  an  ad- 
ditional one  being  added  in  the  form  of  a 
2-2  piastre. 

5  paras,       light  brown. 
10      „  mauve 

20      „  dull  blue 

1  piastre,    red 

2  ,,  orange 
2|      „          purple 

5        „  light  green. 

These  stamps  are  lithographed,  and  their 
execution  is  very  poor]  if  we  may  judge  from 
the  blurred  specimens  before  us.  In  our  next 
number  we  hope  to  give  an  engraving  and 
further  particulars. 

RUSSIA.  —  The  Russian  post  card  was 
Issued  «>n  New  Year's  Day,  and  is  found  to 
lack  one  of  the  chief  elements  of  interest, 
a  monetary  value  shown  by  an  impressed 
Stamp.  What  there  is  on  the  card  is  finely 
\ed.  namely,  a  broad,  shaded,  orna- 
mental border  ;  the  Russian  arms  on  the  left; 
a  dotted  and  inscribed  rectangle  in  the  right 


upper  corner  ;  an  inscription,  signifying  open 
letter,  between  them,  and  below,  five  lines 
for  the  address,  followed  by  instructions, 
which  are  : — 

1. — An  open  letter  must  be  fully  prepaid  with  the 
proper  stamp. 

2. — On  this  side  nothing  but  the  address  may  be 
Arritten. 

In  the  border,  in  small  type,  we  find  office 

FOR     THE     PREPARATION     OF     IMPERIAL      PAPERS. 

|   At  the  back  there  is  a  double-lined  border, 

i   broken,  above,  by  the  words  place  for  the 

letter,   and  below,  by  the  postal  admixis- 

i  TRATION  DOES  NOT  ANSWER  FOR  THE  CONTENTS 

|  of  the  letter.  The  card  is  grey,  and  the 
inscription,  &c,  in  sepia.  The  postage  is  3 
kop.  for  town  letters,  and  5  kop.  from  town 
to  town. 

Austria.—1  Our  old  friend,  Mr.  Max  Joseph, 
sends  ns  a  post  card  for  Bohemia.  It  is 
exactly  like  the  current  Austrian,  and  has 
the  2  kr.  orange-yellow  in  the  corner ;  but 
under  the  German  inscription,  korrespondenz 
karte,  comes  the  Sclavonic  (?)  korespon- 
dencni  listck.  Our  correspondent  says  that 
these  cards  are,  "as  it  appears,''  already 
prohibited  (qy.,  withdrawn)  by  government, 
but  we  do  not  think  so,  nor  see  any  reason 
why  they  should  have  been  called  in.  The 
two  German  papers,  Deutsche  Briefmarlieii- 
Zeitung,  and  A.  Moschhau's  Magazin,  concur 
in  stating  that  cards  are  to  be  issued  with 

•  duplicate  inscriptions  for  every  one  of  the 
peoples  of  the  empire.  There  will  be  German- 
Ruthenian,  German-Polish,  &c. 

Germany. — Quite  a  novelty  in  the  way  of 
post  cards  has  been  communicated  to  us  by 
a  gentleman  connected  with  a  German  pub- 
lishing house  at  London.  It  is  none  other 
than  .a  post  card  issued  by  a  German  book- 
seller ;  and  it  does  surprise  us  that  booksellers 
are  allowed  to  issue  their  own  cards,  which 
go  through  the  post,  provided  they  are 
prepaid  with  the  proper  adhesive  stamp. 

The  one  before  us  is  of  grey  paper,  of  large 
size  (about  G  in.  by  4|  in.)  ;  has  bucher  bes- 
tellzettel  at  the  top,  followed  by  the  usual 
lines  for  the  address ;  and  in  the  right  upper 
corner,  a  dotted  and  inscribed  square  for  the 
stamp.  The  back  is  filled  with  trade  an- 
nouncements. Here  is  a  nut  for  the  ultras 
to  crack.  Of  course  they  will  accept  these 
cards. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


21 


New  registration  stamps — value  10  and  30 
gr. — for  the  empire  have  made  their  appear- 
ance. They  do  not  in  the  least  differ  from 
their  predecessors,  except  it  be  that  their 
colours  are  somewhat  brighter  and  richer. 
The  inscription,  norddeutsches  bezirk,  is 
replaced  by  Deutsche  reichs-post. 

Norway.- — At  the  moment  of  going  to 
press,  we  have  received  from  an  esteemed 
correspondent  a  postmarked  specimen  of  a 
new  stamp  for  this  country,  an  engraving  of 
which  we  hope  to  give  next  month.  Mean- 
while, we  may  briefly  state  that  the  design 
of  the  new  comer  is  as  follows  :  Numeral 
of  value  in  white  circle  formed  by  post-horn, 
surmounted  by  a  crown  ;  all  enclosed  in  broad 
oval  band,  inscribed  above,  norge,  and  value 
(tre  shilling)  below ;  each,  angle  is  occupied 
by  a  winged  wheel.  Colour,  a  deep  rose. 
Whether  this  is  the  only  value  of  this  type, 
we  cannot  say. 

New  Zealand. — A  redistribution  of  the 
colours  of  three  of  the  New  Zealand  stamps 
has  taken  place  ;  the  penny  exchanges  its 
vermilion  for  the  sober  brown  of  the  six- 
pence, and  the  twopence  takes  the  colour 
dropped  by  the  penny,  and  passes  its  blue  to 
the  sixpence.  Thus  (to  make  matters  clear) 
we  now  have — 

One  penny         pale  brown 
Twopence  vermilion 

Sixpence  blue 

The  two   former  values   which  we  possess 
are  both  star  watermarked. 

Bavaria.  —  Two  more  returned-letter 
stamps  have  recently 
been  issued,  one  for 
Nurnberg,  the  other 
for  Augsburg.  They 
are  composed  only  of 
four  lines  of  type, 
are  printed  in  black 
on  creamy-white  paper,  and  replace  the  old 
well-known  "  arms  "  stamps. 

Ceylon. — We  alluded  in  our  last  to  a 
forthcoming  series  with  value  in  cents.  Pre- 
paratory to  its  issue,  says  our  Birmingham 
confrere,  the  existing  issues  have  been  called 
in,  and  among  the  adhesives  found  at  out- 
lying post-offices  are  a  few  of  the  unattain- 
able 2s.  unperforate. 

The  stamps  surcharged  "  Service,"  though 


Commission 
fur 

Retourbriefe 
Niirnberg. 


prepared,  were  never  used  ;  a  case  containing 
them  lies  in  the  post-office,  and  they  are  now 
to  be  destroyed. 

Spain. — Mr.  Ysasi  informs  us  he  has  heard 
from  Madrid,  that  the  post-office  is  busy 
printing  off  the  supply  of  the  new  postage 
stamps,  but  that  they  will  not  be  ready  for 
another  four  months  !  Sen  or  Manuel  Prua 
de  Figueroa  writes  that  they  will  not  be 
issued  for  several  months. 

Sierra  Leone. — The  handsome  and  soli- 
tary stamp  which  has  so  long  represented 
this  colony  in  our  albums,  is,  we  are  in- 
formed, to  be  replaced  by  a  series  consisting 
of  five  values  :  Id.,  2d.,  3d.,  Gd.,  1/-.  This 
information  comes  from  an  official  source. 

Luxembourg. — The  4  centimes  stamp  is 
now  printed  of  a  bright  green.  This  is  a 
change  for  the  better,  as  it  serves  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  the  1  centime,  to  which  it 
formerly  bore  a  close  resemblance. 

Canada. — We  have  received  by  the  last 
mail  specimens  of  a  new  6  cents  brown  of 
the  small  size.  It  is  printed  of  a  warm  tint, 
and  is  as  effective  as  its  congeners. 

Spanish  Colonies. — A  new  series,  issued 
on  1st  January,  is  announced,  but  details  are 
wanting. 

PAPERS  FOR  BEGINNERS.—  No.  XVII. 

BY   OVERY  TAYLOR. 

EUROPE. 

THE   DAUUBIAN   PRINCIPALITIES: 

ftoMur. 

It  is  with  the  greatest  diffidence  that  I 
enter  on  the  task  of  discussing  the  stamps 
of  Moldavia,  and  I  should  have  preferred  to 
omit  all  notice  of  them  but  for  the  recent 
arrival  of  documentary  evidence,  which  lifts 
the  history  of  the  early  issues,  to  some  ex- 
tent, out  of  the  shroud  of  conjecture  in  which 
it  was  previously  enveloped  ;  and  in  pre- 
senting the  conclusions  I  have  ventured  to 
draw  from  the  facts  before  me,  I  beg  it  may 
be  understood  that  I  do  so  with  all  possible 
reserve,  and  shall  willingly  accept  the  emen- 
dations of  philatelists  who  may  have  made 
these  stamps  the  objects  of  special  study. 
For  my  own  part,  I  had  long  since  "  given 
up  "  the  first  Moldavian  series,  in  respect  of 


22 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


The  designs  being  here  represented,  no  de- 
scription of  them  is  necessary,  further  than 
to  say  that  the  impressions  were  handstruck 
in  a  random  manner. 

The  earliest  mention  I  find  of  any  of  these 
stamps  is  at  p.  76  of  the  first  volume  of  The 
Stamp-Collector's  Magazine.  Dr.  Viner  there 
refers  to  the  existence  of  a  tradition  of  an 
early  issue  of  Moldavians,  and  in  confirmation 
of  it  states  that  two  years  previously  (1861) 
he  saw  the  three  higher  values  (which  he 
describes)  in  a  Parisian  collection.  Prior  to 
this,  Mount  Brown,  in  the  first  edition  of  his 
list,  had  noticed  a  mythical  62  paras,  but 
hud  omitted  it  from  the  succeeding  two.  In 
his  fourth  edition,  which  appeared  not  long 
after  \)v.  Viner's  notice,  the  54,  81,  and  108 
paras  were  included;  and  in  August,  1863, 


which  the  principal  doubts  arise,  as  a  nut 
which  I  could  not  crack,  and  my  opinion 
was  confirmed  on  observing  that  even  Dr. 
Maguus,  whilst  giving  a  careful  analysis  of 
all  the  known  types  of  the  stamps  of  that 
series,  could  form  but  comparatively  vague 
conjectures  as  to  their  respective  value.* 
The  official  documents,  however,  above  re- 
ferred to,  and  published  by  M.  Moens,  in  Le  ; 
Tiralrc-Poste  for  1871,  throw  light  on  several 
points  of  the  first  importance,  and  by  their 
aid,  it  will,  I  trust,  be  possible  to  determine, 
with  tolerable  exactness,  the  facts  connected 
with  the  emission  of  the  two  series.  Let  us, 
however,  begin  by  ascertaining  what  was 
the  state  of  our  knowledge  of  the  first  series 
before  the  arrival  of  these  documents,  after 
premising  that  that  series  was  composed  of 
the  four  following  values  : — 

27  paras,  black  on  rose  paper. 
54      ,,      blue  to  bluish-green,  on  greenish  paper. 
81      ,,  .,  on  pale  blue     ,, 

108     „  ,,  on  rose  tinted  ,, 


*[We  have  reason  to  think  that  the  learned  doctor's 
opinion    now  coincides  with    that  which    Mr.    Taylor 
Ed.] 


the  late  Mr.  Stockall,  of  Liverpool,  for  the 
first  time,  advertised  the  three  stamps,  un- 
used, for  5/6.  No  attempt  was  made,  at  that 
time,  to  gain  any  definite  information  re- 
specting them,  and,  indeed,  no  further  notice 
was  taken  of  them,  until,  in  the  second  vol. 
of  The  St  amp- Collector's  Magazine,  Dr.  Viner, 
at  the  close  of  a  sketch  of  the  history  of.  the 
principalities,  remarks  of  the  three  higher- 
value  stamps  (p.  109),  that  "  whether  cur- 
rent, remainders,  or  reprints,  they  can  yet 
be  procured  uncancelled  from  the  post-office 
of  Jassy  ;  "  adding,  "  we  must  take  it  for 
granted  that  the  postal  officials  there  do  not 
forge  their  own  stamps ;  but  being  one  of 
the  few  individuals  fortunate  enough  to 
possess  a  genuine  postmarked  specimen  of 
these  emissions,  very  rare  in  that  state,  we 
must  say  the  discrepancy  is  so  great  as 
totally  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  their 
having  been  stamped  from  the  same  die. 
This  cannot  proceed,  as  in  the  instance  of 
the  Corrientes,  local  Melbourne,  &c,  from 
the  engraver  having  made  several  designs  on 
one  plate,  the  stamps  of  the  Danubian  prin- 
cipalities then  and  now  being  individually 
and  irregularly  handstamped." 

Here  the  key-note  of  scepticism  was  struck, 
and  with  great  accuracy,  too,  as  we  shall 
hereafter  see  :  and  it  is  also  noticeable  that 
at  the  time  these  observations  were  written, 
nothing  was  known  of  the  date  of  emission. 
A  short  time  afterwards,  however,  M.  Rondot, 
in  the  Magazin  Pittoresque,  argued  that  the 
use  of  postage  stamps  was  introduced  into 
Moldavia  in  1854,  and  professed  to  have 
seen  letters  of  1855  bearing  stamps  of  the 
first  issue.  This  conjecture  was  forthwith 
adopted  by  all  the  catalogue-makers,  and  re- 
mained uncontested  until  recently  proved  to 
be  erroneous.  At  that  point  matters  rested, 
and  no  fresh  researches  were  made  into  the 
history  of  the  stamps  until  Dr.  Magnus  took 
them  in  hand,  and,  towards  the  close  of  1867, 
published,  in  Le  Timbre- Poste,  the  minute 
and  laborious  analysis  of  the  various  known 
types,  which  was  reprinted  in  the  1868 
volume  of  this  journal.  He  therein  enume- 
rates no  less  than  five  types  of  each  of  the 
three  higher  values,  but  plainly  states  that 
he  does  not  make-  a  point  of  guaranteeing 
their   authenticity  ;    and,  in  concluding  his 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


23 


article,  he  says,  "  The  counterfeits  are  cer- 
tainly very  numerous,  and  we  fully  admit 
our  inability  to  distinguish  them."  The 
learned  doctor  invited  criticism  and  farther 
details,  but  all  he  received  was  a  brief  notice 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Pemberton,  in  which  the 
latter  states  that  among  the  five  types  are 
some  which  he  had  always  considered  as 
forgeries,  beyond  a  doubt,  but  that,  in  his 
opinion,  that  was  a  matter  of  no  moment, 
"the  acknowledged  forgeries  being  quite  as 
valuable  as  the  very  dubious  originals." 

In  the  autumn  of  1868  the  27  paras 
stamp  was  discovered,  and  up  to  the  present 
time  only  one  copy  has,  if  I  am  rightly  in- 
formed, been  found.  It  may,  however,  be 
useful  to  remind  my  readers,  en  passant, 
that  Mr.  Engelhardt  Fohl  has  a  large  supply 
of  forged  specimens,  for  which  a  couple  of 
guineas  each,  are,  in  his  estimation,  not  too 
much. 

In  1870  Mons.  Moens  obtained,  through  a 
correspondent,  information  from  an  official 
source  of  the  true  date  of  issue  of  the  first 
series,  together  with  other  particulars,  to 
which  allusion  will  hereafter  be  made  in  the 
proper  place.  Finally  he  received,  and, 
in  the  last  volume  of  Le  Timbre-Poste, 
published  the  translation  of  tlie  govern- 
ment orders  and  correspondence  respecting 
the  first  and  second  series,  and  to  these  we 
now  turn  for  information. 

The  first  impulse  towards  postal  progress 
was  given  by  a  memorial,  prepared  by  Prince 
Demetrius  Cantacuzen,  probably  by  govern- 
ment order,  in  which  the  necessity  of  a  re- 
form, not  only  in  the  letter  rates,  but  also  in 
the  mode  of  transport  was  advocated.  The 
exact  date  of  this  memorial  is  not  known, 
but  it  is  referred  to  in  the  order  of  11th  July, 
1858,  No.  6313  (which,  together  with  all  the 
other  documents,  are  annexed  to  the  present 
in  the  form  of  an  appendix,  that  my  readers 
may  study  them  for  themselves),  and  we 
may  assume  that  it  was  presented  in  the 
spring  of  that  year.  It  received  the  appro- 
bation of  the  Moldavian  Administrative 
Council,  and  of  the  Prince  Caim  Mekam 
(the  Deputy  Grand  Vizier),  and  a  new  tariff 
was  projected  in,  or  sprung  from  it,  con- 
sisting of  the  following  rates  : — 


For  small  letters  [whatever  they  might  be],  and  for  a 

distance  of  1  to  8  posts  (9  to  70  miles),     27  para-. 
For  small  letters  for  a  greater  distance,  54       ,, 

For  "large"  letters,  -  -  81       ,, 

For  registered  letters  [letters  with  a  receipt]    108       , , 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  elementary 
postal  system  which  it  succeeded,  this  new 
tariff  can  scarcely  have  been  a  great  advance 
on  its  predecessor,  and,  as  we  shall  see  later 
on,  it  did  not  long  remain  in  force,  but  it 
sufficed  to  occasion  the  issue  of  the  first 
series  of  Moldavian  stamps. 

The  first  document,  in  order  of  date,  which 
refers  to  these  stamps  is  a  letter  dated  the 
1st  May,  1858,  and  addressed  by  the  post- 
master to  the  finance  minister,  in  which  ho 
sets  forth  the  necessity  of  preparing  stamps 
in  accordance  with  the  4th  paragraph  of 
the  new  postal  regulations.  Whether  this 
was  merely  a  formal  request  on  the  part 
of  the  postmaster,  or  was  really  the  con- 
sequence of  his  perception  of  an  oversight, 
is  not  a  point  of  much  importance  ;  we  are 
more  concerned  with  the  second  si  ate  paper, 
dated  1st  July,  1858,  and  consisting  of  a 
letter  from  the  finance  minister,  Balche,  to  a 
personage  described  in  the  Belgian  trans- 
lation as  M.  le  Secretaire  de  VAtelier  du 
Timbre,  and  whom  I  venture  to  describe,  for 
want  of  a  better  term,  as  superintendent  of 
the  stamp  (printing)  office.  The  minister 
thereby  notifies  his  subordinate  of  the  de- 
cision taken  by  the  government  to  issue 
stamps  of  the  above  four  values,  and  then 
adds,  that  "  to  give  it  effect  the  finance  de- 
partment had  prepared  the  necessary  seals 
[or  dies],  of  the  number  of  four,"  which  he 
therewith  transmits  to  him  ;  and  he  instructs 
the  superintendent,  with  them,  to  strike  off  at 
once  24,000  stamps,  composed  as  follows  : — ■ 

6000  of  the  27  paras 

10,000  „  54  „ 
2000  „  81  „ 
6000      „    108      „ 

This  done,  the  dies  were  to  be  returned  to 
the  department. 

Upon  the  11th  of  July  5984  handstruck 
stamps  of  all  values  were  ready,  and  were  on 
that  day  forwrarded  to  the  post-office  by  the 
finance  minister,  accompanied  by  the  minute 
No.  6313,  advising  them  and  directing  the 
post-office  to  commence  the  issue  on  the  lbth 


24 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


July,  which  is  thus  authoritatively  fixed  as  the 
date  of  issue.  The  5984  stamps  were  all  that 
the  stamp  superintendent  could  prepare  be- 
tween the  1st  and  11th  July,  and  the  product 
of  these  eight  or  nine  days  manual  labour  looks 
ridiculously  small,  when  compared  with  the 
results  given  by  typographic  stamp-printing 
machines  in  more  civilized  countries.  But 
between  the  sounding  official  formalities  and 
their  effect  in  the  shape  of  an  issue  of  24,000 
postage  stamps,  there  is  the  same  disparity, 
and  half  the  errors  in  connection  with  this 
first  series  have  arisen  from  the  difficulty  of 
conceiving  the  possibility  of  such  rough  pro- 
ductions having  been  otherwise  than  in- 
formally struck  at  random. 

However,  duly  ushered  into  circulation,  as 
we  have  seen  it  really  was,  the  first  series 
became  an  accomplished  fact.  In  the  four 
days  intervening  between  the  last  finance- 
office  letter  and  the  actual  emission,  the 
stock  was,  we  may  assume,  distributed 
among  the  country  offices.  Very  soon  after- 
wards, however,  the  new  postal  tariff  was 
found  to  work  unsatisfactorily.  In  Sep- 
tember a  revised  system  was  proposed  and 
adopted,  and  on  the  1st  November  the  initial 
series  was  withdrawn,  after  a  currency  of  just 
three  months  and  a  half.  On  the  26th  Feb- 
ruary, 1859,  an  inventory  was  taken  of  the 
stock  of  stamps  of  this  series  remaining  on 
hand  "in  the  deceased  cashier's  safe,"  and 
there  were  returned  to  the  finance  minister 
(with  a  promise  that  the  account  should 
shortly  be  handed  to  him)  the  following 
quantities,  viz., — ■ 

3,432  stamps  of  108  paras 
1.307        „  81      „ 

5,244         „  54      „ 

2,325         „  27      „ 


12,308 

Therefore,  on  deducting  these  numbers  from 
those  of  the  original  supply,  as  ordered,  it 
results  that  there  were  issued  out  of  stock — 

3,675  stamps  of  27  paras 

4,756         „  54      „ 

C03         „  81      „ 

2,568         „        108      .. 


Total,  11,692 


or  rather  less  than  half  the  supply  printed 
for  a  year's  consumption. 


Moldavia.— Post  and  Diligence  Office.— No.  975. 
1858,  1st  May. 
Honoured  Chief  of  the  Finance  Department, 

Besides  what  has  been  put  in  force  pursuant  to  the 
new  postal  regulations,  and  the  reform  of  the  diligences, 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  stamps,  of  graduated  prices, 
should  be  issued,  conformably  to  the  4th  paragraph  of  the 
instructions  concerning  the  transport  of  letters,  which 
says,—"  For  the  payment  of  letters  there  shall  be  intro- 
duced stamps  of  the  value  of  27  paras,  54  paras,  81  paras, 
and  108  paras,  treasury  currency.  These  stamps  shall  be 
sold  in  the  places  where  revenue  stamps  are  kept,  and  in 
the  post-offices ;  the  said  stamps  shall  be  stuck  on  the 
letters,  pursuant  to  the  tariff,  according  to  the  weight  and 
the  distance."  This  being  submitted  to  the  honoured 
chief  of  the  department,  he  is  l-equested  to  arrange  for  the 
fabrication  and  delivery  of  the  stamps  in  such  manner  as 
he  may  deem  best. 

(Signed)        The  Director,  V.  GrFJGOPJOU. 


Finance  Office.— No.  5895.— 1858,  July  1st. 
M.  le  Secretaire  de  V Atelier  du  Timbre, 

According  to  the  postal  and  diligence  regulations, 
approved  by  the  Council,  and  sanctioned  by  H.  E.  the 
Prince  Cai'macam,  it  has  been  decided  that,  for  the  pay- 
ment of  postage,  there  shall  be  introduced  stamps  of  the 
values  fixed  by  the  tariffs,  after  a  scale  of  weight,  which 
are  27,  54,  81,  and  108  paras,  treasury  currency.  To 
that  effect  the  department  has  had  prepared  the  necessary 
seals,  of  the  number  of  four,  which  it  sends  you,  re- 
questing you  to  make  for  the  present  a  supply  of  24,000 
stamps,  divided  as  follows  : — 

6,000  stamps  of  27  paras. 
10,000        „         54      „ 

2,000        „         8L      „ 

6,000  „  108  „ 
The  paper,  and  other  necessary  articles  for  this  operation, 
you  will  obtain  at  the  post-office,  according  to  the  ap- 
proved specification ;  you  will  prepare  the  prescribed 
number  of  stamps  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  and  you 
will  deliver  them  to  this  department,  sending  the  seals 
with  them. 

(Signed)        The  Minister,  BALCHE. 


Finance  Office.— No.  6313.— 1858,  July  1st. 
To  the  Postal  Administration. 

The  Secretary  of  State  has  communicated  (No. 
2663)  to  this  department  the  memorial  prepared  by  Prince 
Demetrius  Cantacuzen,  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
project,  which  has  been  found  indispensable,  relating  to 
the  postal  and  diligence  service.  The  memorial  having 
received  the  approval  of  the  Administrative  Council,  and 
this  latter  having  submitted  it  to  H.  E.  the  Prince 
Cai'macam,  it  has  been  decided,  inter  alia,  that  stamps  of 
different  values  shall  be  issued,  to  be  used  by  the  public 
for  the  prepayment  of  its  letters.  It  has  furthermore 
been  decided  that  the  stamps  should  be  printed  in  the 
stump- office,  pursuant  to  the  estimate  of  your  ad- 
ministration of  the  quantity  necessary  for  one  year's  con- 
J    sumption.    According  to  the  report  of  the  Secretary  to  the 


THE    STAMP-COLLECTOR'S    MAGAZINE. 


I. 


Front  and  Back  Sheets. 

The  portion  of  cardboard  between  these 
four  lines  to  be  cut  out. 


II. 

Middle  Sheet.     Shaded  portions  to  be  cut  out. 


THE    STAMP-COLLECTOR'S    MAGAZINE. 


III. 

Front  view,  shewing  arrangement  of  Envelopes. 


IV. 

Back  view. 


^j  -     ^H 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


said  office  (No.  62),  the  following  stamps  have  been  re- 
ceived, to  the  number  of  5,984,  namely, 

992      27  para  stamps. 

992      64         „ 

480      81         „ 
3,520    108 


Total    5,984 

This  department  transmits  them  to  the  post-office,  that  it 
may  arrange  for  their  employment,  conformably  to  the 
postal  regulations,  and  the  memorial  above  referred  to, 
beginning  on  the  15th  July  instant.  The  department 
claims  a  receipt  for  the  stamps  immediately. 

(Signed)        The  Minister,  BALCHE. 


Post  and  Diligence  Administration. — No.  548. 

1859,  Feb.  IQ.—Jassy. 
To  the  Hon.  the  Finance  Minister. 

On  opening  the  safe  of  the  defunct  cashier,  Nicholas 
Costiu,  there  were  found  the  following  old  and  un- 
serviceable stamps,  viz. : — 

3,432  of  the  108  paras 
1,307       „      81      „ 
5,244       „       54     „ 
2,325       „      27     „ 


12,308  stamps. 

(say,  twelve  thousand,  three  hundred,  and  eight  stamps), 
which  are  sent  to  the  hon.  minister  pending  the  pre- 
paration of  the  account,  which  will  be  submitted  to  him, 
and  of  the  l-eception  of  which  the  administration  solicits 
an  acknowledgment. 

The  Postmaster,  C.  TULBURE. 

The  Controller,    J.  BOG  DAM. 

(To  be  continued  J. 


PLAN  FOR  MOUNTING  ENVELOPES. 

(illustrated  with  diagrams.) 

In  our  impression  for  June  last  we  inserted 
an  article  written  by  a  very  enlightened 
American  collector,  Mr.  Tiffany,  and  reprint- 
ed from  our  New  York  contemporary.  To- 
wards the  end  of  that  article  Mr.  Tiffany 
describes  his  plan  for  mounting  envelopes, 
and  he  has  since  been  good  enough  to  prepare 
for  us,  at  considerable  trouble  we  are  sure,  a 
model  of  a  page  of  his  envelopes  on  a  scale 
of  2|  in.  square.  This  we  now  reproduce  in 
the  four  annexed  diagrams,  as  we  think  it  is 
well  worthy  of  being  studied,  and  a  mere 
written  description  would  not  fully  convey 
to  the  mind  the  exact  method  employed. 

The  mount  is  composed  of  three  sheets  of 
cardboard,  or  it  would,  perhaps,  be  more 
correct  to  say  of  two  frames  and  a  sheet 
between  them.  The  diagram  No.  1  repre- 
sents (on  the  same  scale  as  the  model)  the 


shape  of  the  back  and  front  sheets ;  and  No. 
2,  of  the  middle  sheet,  which  shows  four 
transverse  slits.  No.  3  gives  a  front  view 
of  the  page,  whence  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
rows  of  envelopes  are  hung  over  the  suc- 
cessive bars  of  the  middle  sheet,  and  that  the 
bottoms  of  the  envelopes  are  turned  under 
and  kept  in  their  places  by  the  next  line. 
The  back  view  of  the  sheet  farther  illustrates 
the  arrangement,  and  at  the  same  time 
demonstrates  the  facility  it  affords  for  the 
examination  of  the  naps.  The  three  sheets 
are  lightly  but  firmly  gummed  together  by 
the  top  and  bottom  edges  ;  a  linen  hinge  with 
eyelets  at  each  end  runs  along  the  back,  and 
behind  all  is  a  fly-sheet  of  white  paper,  to 
preserve  the  flaps  of  the  envelopes. 

This  method  seems  to  unite  the  advantages 
of  extreme  neatness,  due  prominence  to  the 
envelopes,  and  perfect  security ;  besides 
which  the  sheets  thus  arranged  would  not 
cause  a  properly  bound  book  to  bulge  in  the 
least.  It  has,  it  is  true,  one  drawback,  which 
is  shared  by  all  the  really  good  methods,  viz., 
that  it  is  expensive  to  get  made,  and  it 
would  take  considerable  time  to  make  at 
home,  but  the  result  is  well  worth  the  cost 
or  trouble.  We  do  not  know  how  Mr.  Tiffany 
proceeds,  but  we  should  think  the  best  plan 
would  be  to  get  two  deal  boards — one  of  the 
size  of  the  rectangle  which  has  to  be  cut 
out  of  the  exterior  sheets  in  order  to  turn 
them  into  frames  for  the  middle  one,  the  other 
with  transverse  slits  in  it ;  it  would  then  only 
be  necessary  to  lay  them  on  the  cards,  and  cut 
out  accordingly;  by  this  means  a  consider- 
able number  might  be  prepared  in  a  short 
space  of  time.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  each  sheet  would  be  complete  in  itself, 
and  might  be  kept  in  a  drawer  or  portfolio, 
pending  the  preparation  of  a  sufficient  num- 
ber to  form  a  volume — if,  indeed,  it  be 
necessary  to  bind  them. 


Postal  Delays  in  India. — A  good  story  oomes  to  ua 
from  Kashmir,  and,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  a  true  one.  One 
day  no  letters  were  distributed  at  Srinnugger,  and  anxious 
inquirers  at  the  post-office  could  obtain  no  information  or 
redress.  At  length  an  official  circular  came  round  to  all 
the  residents,  stating  that  as  an  English  officer  had 
severely  thrashed  the  postmaster  that  morning,  this 
functionary  was  disabled  by  his  wounds  from  discharging 
his  duties,  and  no  letters  would  be  issued  until  his 
recovery. — Calcutta  Englishman, 


26 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


FIJI   AND    THE   FIJIANS. 

BY   THE   EDITOR. 

Not  many,  perhaps,  of  our  readers  as  yet 
have  become  possessors  of  specimens  of  the 
Fijian  stamps;  they  are  still  but  new  and 
little-known  arrivals  of  very  unattractive 
and  almost  suspiciously  plain  appearance,  but 
they  form,  nevertheless,  a  veritable  emission 
which  has  been  brought  out  under  the 
auspices  of  King  Thakombau  and  his  Council, 
and  they  are  certainly  a  striking  sign  of  the 
times. 

But  a  few  years  back  the  Fiji  group  was 
known  only  as  the  abode  of  a  cannibal  race, 
and  even  now  the  practice  of  making  away 
with  their  enemies  piecemeal  is  still  in  vogue 
among  the  interesting  Fijians.  Better  days, 
however,  are  dawning  upon  the  islands,  and 
if  their  inhabitants  can  only  live  through  the 
trying  ordeal  of  civilisation,  they  may  yet 
take  rank  with  their  neighbours  of  Hawaii 
as  polished  Polynesians. 

The  Fiji  islands  number  two  hundred  in 
all,  of  which  the  majority  are  inhabited. 
The  principal  one,  named  Ovalau,  is  but  1780 
miles  from  Sydney,  and  is  surrounded  by  a 
stupendous  reef,  through  which  an  opening 
only  500  yards  wide  leads  to  the  bay  on 
whose  beach  is  built  the  town  of  Levuka. 
The  island  is  remarkably  beautiful ;  craggy 
ridges  rise  abruptly  from  the  shore  to  a 
height  of  2000  feet,  clothed  with  dense 
vegetation,  except  where  bare  peaks  and 
precipices  appear  among  the  foliage.  As 
for  the  town  itself,  it  cannot  as  yet  lay  much 
claim  to  be  considered  picturesque  or  attrac- 
tive ;  its  most  remarkable  feature  being  its 
hotels,  in  which  the  ne'er-do-weels  of  the 
settlement  gamble  away  their  time,  week  in  . 
week  out.  There  are  no  streets,  properly  so 
called,  and  sanitary  reform  is  a  thing  as  yet 
undreamt  of,  the  refuse  of  the  place  being 
thrown  out  on  the  beach,  which  is  thus 
rendered  at  once  unsightly  and  ill-smelling. 
Among  the  other  islands  the  principal  are 
Bau,  on  which  the  king  usually  resides,  Viti- 
levu,  and  Likuri,  all  capable  of  high  cultiva- 
tion, and  likely  to  furnish  at  no  distant  period 
a  considerable  supply  of  cotton. 

Tho  people,  taken  altogether,  are  as  rough 
and    barbarous    a   lot   as    any    enthusiastic 


philanthropist  could  wish  to  try  his  hand  on. 
Their  wants  are  few ;  the  earth  yields 
sufficient  harvest  for  them  without  requiring 
any  preliminary  tickling  with  a  hoe,  and  in 
the  waters  around  fish  are  always  abundant. 
But  this  practical  immunity  from  toil  brings 
with  it  its  curse ;  the  white  men  who  go 
amongst  them  cannot  get  them  to  labour 
systematically,  or  for  any  length  of  time,  and 
it  is  to  be  feared  that,  like  the  aborigines  of 
Australia,  the  race  is  gradually  shrivelling 
up.  The  men  take  but  little  care  of  them- 
selves, and  are,  consequently,  a  prey  to 
epidemics  ;  whilst  the  women,  in  search  of 
fish — a  pursuit  which  is  with  them  a  passion 
— expose  themselves  at  all  seasons  of  tho 
year  writh  the  most  injurious  results.  Very 
frequently  for  most  of  the  night  they  are  to 
be  found  in  companies  upon  the  reefs  fishing 
by  torchlight,  wading,  swimming  about,  and 
shivering  with  the  cold,  and  nothing  but  a 
sickness  which  confines  them  to  the  house 
will  deter  them  from  their  pleasure.  The 
results  of  these  practices  are  a  diminution  in 
the  birth  rate  and  an  augmentation  in  the 
death  rate.  There  are  four  deaths  for  every 
birth.  In  one  district  there  were  ten  years 
ago  800  people  ;  three  years  ago  in  the  same 
district  the  inhabitants  could  not  muster 
400.  Such  startling  statistics  point  the  way 
to  certain  extinction,  if  the  practices  which 
give  rise  to  them  be  continued,  and  the 
introduction  of  fire-water  is  hardly  needed  to 
complete  the  work. 

That  a  people  so  low  in  the  social  scale 
should  possess  a  king  and  a  constitution 
must  seem  at  first  sight  strange,  but  it  finds 
its  explanation  in  the  advent  of  the  white 
man.  There  are  some  three  thousand 
scattered  over  the  islands,  and  a  tenth  of 
their  number  is  congregated  at  Levuka. 
The  leading  men,  as  a  matter  of  course,  have 
gained  an  influence  over  old  king  Thakombau, 
and  impressed  him  with  the  necessity  of 
establishing  law  and  order  with  their  usual 
accompaniments,  taxes.  There  was  a  prece- 
dent to  go  by  in  the  establishment  of  a 
constitution  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  ;  that 
constitution  was  accordingly  introduced  into 
Fiji  some  four  years  ago,  and  Thakombau 
crowned  king  at  the  same  time  with  much 
ceremony  ;  but  it  was  never  kindly  taken  to 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


27 


by  the  people,  and  it  fell  into  abeyance.  Now 
it  has  again  been  revived,  and  an  executive 
council  of  seven  formed,  five  being  white 
settlers  and  two  natives.  How  it  will  work 
remains  to  be  seen,  but  certainly  the  Fijian 
powers  that  be  will  have  no  light  work  to 
do,  for  they  will  have  to  govern  a  people 
which,  it  is  calculated,  are  split  up  into  a 
thousand  tribes,  each  small  village  of  one  or 
two  hundred  inhabitants  usually  boasting  of 
two  or  three,  besides  which  king  Thakombau 
bas  to  count  with  the  whites,  who  are  a 
formidable  and  motley  set,  comprising  not  a 
few  men  who  are  under  a  cloud  for  one 
reason  or  another. 

The  really  respectable  settlers  (merchants 
and  planters)  are  the  greatest  support  of  his 
authority,  and  they  form  the  aristocracy  of 
Levuka,  the  leading  men  amongst  them 
having  eaeh  his  house  of  business  on  the 
beach  and  his  residence  on  the  hills  behind. 
To  know  them  is  accounted  an  honour,  and 
visitors  to  the  island  find  in  their  houses  a 
welcome  as  heartyand  pleasant  as  it  is  homely. 
Behind  them,  however,  come  the  men  who, 
as  our  authority  for  the  present  description 
quaintly  puts  it,  have  "  made  themselves 
conspicuous  elsewhere,"  and  who  brazen  out 
their  claims  to  a  position  in  Fiji ;  whilst 
behind  these  again  comes  the  crew  of 
lounging  adventurers,  who  always  flock  to 
semi-civilized  places — men  who  will  not  work, 
and  men  who  would  work  if  they  could  find 
employment.  Such  men  as  these  latter  are 
likely  to  throw  the  greatest  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  the  orderly  government  of  the  island. 
The  more  reckless  among  them  will  probably 
resist  when  taxes  come  to  be  levied,  and  a 
collision  and  bloodshed  may  possibly  ensue. 
Besides  this,  the  division  of  the  people  into  a 
multitude  of  tribes  destroys  the  sentiment  of 
nationality,  and  must  be  a  fruitful  source  of 
opposition.  It  is  true  that  Thakombau  has 
the  character  of  being  a  shrewd,  determined 
man,  and  when  be  appeared  before  the 
people  of  Levuka  to  publicly  announce  the 
formation  of  the  ministry  he  was  attended 
by  a  body-guard  of  fifty-five  athletic  men, 
armed  with  breech-loading  rifles;  still  all 
his  energies  will  be  required  if  he  is  to  render 
bis  authority  general  and  undisputed. 

In  June  last  a  tribe  called  the  Lavoni,  in 


the  interior  of  Ovalau,  was  in  open  rebellion, 
and  the  king  brought  over  600  men  from 
another  island  to  attack  them.  His  troops 
were  victorious,  and  marched  past  Manton's 
hotel,  in  Levuka,  brandishing  a  human  arm 
and  hand  at  the  end  of  a  spear.  Whether 
these  were  all  the  fruits  of  victory  does  not 
appear,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  war  against 
the  Lavoni  is  carried  on  in  a  very  slow  way. 
It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the 
600  men  above  referred  to  represent  the 
sum  total  of  the  king's  military  forces;  he  is 
said  to  have  several  thousand  men  under  his 
orders,  and  it  is  alleged  that  the  operations 
against  the  Lavoni  are  only  intended  to  mask 
his  preparations  for  the  more  serious  contest 
which  is  likely  to  take  place  between  him 
and  an  ambitious  Tonga  chief,  named  Maafu, 
who  rules  some  of  the  windward  islands. 
Maafu  is  believed  to  cast  a  longing  eye  on 
the  richer  islands  governed  by  Thakombau, 
and  the  latter — quite  a  barbarian  Moltke  in 
his  way — concentrates  his  forces,  in  antici- 
pation of  a  declaration  of  war  from  his  rival. 

Sucb  is  tbe  latest  political  bulletin  from 
Fiji,  but  since  it  was  written  we  have  seen  it 
suggested  that,  in  consequence  of  the  murder 
of  the  devoted  Bishop  Patteson,  the  Fiji 
group  ought  to  be  annexed  by  England,  and 
summarily  civilised,  a  course  wThich  would 
probably  result  in  another  "little  war"  of 
the  New  Zealand  type. 

The  source  of  the  native  distrust,  as 
unhappily  exemplified  in  the  occurrence 
above  referred  to,  is  unquestionably  the  kid- 
napping which  goes  on,  not  only  between  the 
various  groups  of  islands  and  some  of  our 
colonies,  but  also  between  these  said  groups 
and  Fiji  itself.  The  planters,  finding  the 
Fijians  will  not  work,  import  labour,  and 
under  this  cloak  the  grossest  crimes  are  com- 
mitted.*    And  yet  in  Fiji  there  is  a  Scotch- 

*  One  vessel  engaged  in  what  is  really  a  slave  traffic 
called  at  an  island  where  the  natives  could  not  be  induced 
to  come  on  board,  but  they  were  anxiously  looking  out 
for  Bishop  Patteson.  Thereupon  the  trader  stood  out  to 
sea,  repainted  his  vessel  so  as  to  make  her  look  like  the 
"  Southern  Cross,"  constructed  a  flag  like  that  carried  by 
the  latter  vessel,  and  again  stood  inshore.  Some  natives 
then  came  on  board  eagerly,  were  told  that  Bishop 
Patteson  had  met  with  an  accident  at  another  island  and 
were  canied  off  to  Fiji. 

Since  the  present  article  has  been  in  type,  news  has 
been  received  of  the  murder  of  several  white  men  en- 
eraared  in  the  labour  traffic. 


28 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


man,  who,  by  the  simple  use  of  kindness  and 
persuasion,  gets  more  hands  than  he  wants 
for  his  plantation,  and  natives  of  other 
islands  come  over  and  apply  to  be  taken  on 
before  the  season  commences. 

It  will  now  be  interesting  to  watch  the 
progress  of  Fiji;  if  its  rulers  succeed  in 
levelling  up  their  people  they  will  be  doing 
a  great  and  praiseworthy  work,  for  many  are 
the  habits  and  prejudices  that  will  have  to 
be  undermined  before  that  happy  result  can 
be  obtained ;  among  others,  that  of  the 
vendetta,  which  obtains  as  much  here  as  it 
ever  did  in  the  wilds  of  Corsica.  Not  merely 
the  man  who  commits  an  outrage  on  another 
is  held  responsible,  and  pursued  by  the 
clansmen  of  the  injured  man,  but  his  whole 
tribe  are  marked  out  for  vengeance  and 
made  to  expiate  his  crimes.  If  the  task  of 
civilising  be  too  difficult  for  the  present 
governors,  some  European  power  will  have 
to  step  in,  either  England  or  another,  and,  at 
whatever  cost,  subject  the  Fijians  to  the 
necessary  discipline.  Meanwhile  it  is  a 
noticeable  fact,  from  our  special  philatelic 
stand-point,  that  the  Fijian  Council  has 
thought  fit  to  issue  a  series  of  postage 
stamps,  and  the  emission  of  The  Fiji  Times 
set  is  equally  noteworthy.  Respecting  the 
latter,  we  now  know  that  the  English 
consul  "  superintended  "  the  emission,  but 
we  are  not  in  possession  of  the  circumstances 
connected  with  the  issue  of  the  government 
series. 

We  have  been  able  to  give  some  details 
of  the  islands  and  their  inhabitants,  but 
the  history  of  the  stamps  remains  to  be 
written. 

NOTES   ON   THE   UNITED    STATES 
LOCALS. 

BY   W.   DUDLEY  ATLEE. 

VI. 

EAST    RIVER   POST    OFFICE.    NEW    YORK. 

From  particulars  supplied  to  me  by  Mr.  Casey, 
I  am  able  to  give  the  following  history  of  this 
post.  It  was  established  by  Messrs.  Clark 
and  Wilson,  either  in  1850  or  1851.  An 
office  was  opened  at  23,  Avenue  D,  and 
letters  were  received  there  for  the  mails,  as 
well  as   for  city  delivery.     After  being  in 


business  for  about  a  year,  the  original  pro- 
prietors disposed  of  their  concern  to  a  Mr. 
Adler,  who  shortly  afterwards  removed 
across  the  street  to  number  18,  where  the 
post  was  carried  on  until  some  few  years 
since,  when  the  government  postal  improve- 
ments drove  Mr.  Adler  from  the  field. 

At  first,  letters  were  simply  hand- 
stamped  : — 

EAST  RIVER 
POST  OFFICE, 
23    AVENUE    D 

either  alone,  or  in  conjunction  with  paid  in 
large  letters.  Sometimes  this  was  struck  in 
red,  but  more  often  in  black,  to  judge  from 
the  very  few  known  specimens. 

Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  post,  an 
adhesive  was  adopted,  and  this  is  of  priceless 
rarity,  for  I  do  net  believe  a  single  copy  is 
to  be  found  in  any  collection,  either  in  the 
States  or  in  Europe.  Its  very  existence 
seems  to  have  been  unknown,  for  no  mention 
of  it  has  been  given  in  any  catalogue  or 
magazine  that  has  appeared  from  the  birth 
of  philately  until  now. 

Mr.  Casey  has  become  the  fortunate 
possessor  of  a  fine  black  proof  on  card- 
board of  this  scarce  local,  and  this  is  all  (for 
the  present,  at  any  rate)  that  is  known  to  us 
of  the  earliest  East  River  postage-stamp. 
This  proof  was  obtained  from  Mr.  Clark, 
who  discovered  it  in  going  through  his  old 
papers. 

The  design  consisted  of  a  ship  in  full  sail, 
within  a  circle,  surrounded  by  an  outer 
circle,  inscribed  east  river  p.  o.  23  avenue  d, 
and  with  a  six-pointed  star  at  each  side. 
Below  the  waves  is  the  engraver's  name, 
which  I  refrain  from  giving,  for  fear  of  lend- 
ing aid  to  forgers.  The  stamp  appears  to  be 
from  a  wood-block  :  its  execution  is  very 
good. 

Mr.  Clark  is  unable  to  recollect  the  colour 
in  which  it  was  issued,  but  Mr.  Adler  is 
under  the  impression  that  it  was  black  on 
brown  paper. 

When  Messrs.  Clark  and  Wilson  sold 
their  business,  Mr.  Adler  had  another  die  pre- 
pared for  his  own  use.  He  gave  the  com- 
mission to  Mr.  Julius  Bien,  who  lithographed 
a  design  of  the  following  description  :  steam 
ship,  sailing  to  left,  with  east  river  p.  o.  above, 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


29 


and  abreviated  address  below,  all  within  a 
transverse  single-lined  oval.  Each  stamp 
divided  by  line  of  ruling. 

Of  the  stamp  issued  at  23,  Avenue  D,  we 
have  two  distinctly  and  separately  drawn 
types,  and  of  the  later  of  these  two,  there  are 
three  slight  but  marked  varieties.  From  Mr. 
Bien  comes  the  assurance,  that  the  stones 
from  which  these  early  stamps  were  printed 
are  undoubtedly  destroyed,  for  which  we 
cannot  be  too  thankful. 

The  only  mention  I  can  find  of  these  "  23  " 
stamps  is  in  M.  Berger-Levrault's  French 
catalogue,  and  in  Timbres  d' Offices  Americains 
of  Moens,  wherein  the  name  is  presumably 
collated  from  Levrault.  This  shows  how 
little  is  known  concerning  them.  As  the 
results  of  a  careful  examination,  I  am 
now  able  to  give  an  analytical  account 
of  each  type  emitted  by  Mr.  Adler.  They 
are  all  printed  in  black  on  green  surfaced 
paper,  varying  from  a  dull  to  a  much 
brighter  tint. 

L— 23av.d.  Figure  3  with  flat  head.  The 
whole  execution  comparatively  very  fine  ; 
and  upon  the  side  of  vessel  a  distinct  trellis- 
work  pattern.  All  the  letters  in  upper  inscrip- 
tion thin  and  clear.  Funnel  of  steamer  very 
narrow,  not  perceptibly  larger  at  its  opening, 
and  without  any  line  connecting  it  with  the 
side  of  ship.  The  smoke  extends  to  the 
mizzen-mast,  and  is  shown  by  undulating- 
lines,  forming  under  R  some  resemblance  to 
the  letter  h.  The  mizzen-mast  slants  towards 
the  left,  and  comes  below  the  space  between 
R  and  p.  Sails  are  done  in  outline  only. 
The  flag  has  no  perceptible  staff,  except  the 
line  uniting  it  with  the  stern  ;  it  is  entirely 
unshaded,  and  almost  a  true  oblong  rectangle, 
broken  in  the  lower  line.  The  sea  reaches 
on  the  right  to  a  level  with  the  end  of  flag, 
and  on  the  left  to  level  of  the  ship's  bow. 
On  the  right  it  is  shown  by  six  horizontal 
lines,  with  an  oblique  line  touching  the  ends 
of  the  four  upper,  and  going  through  the 
two  lower  horizontal  ones.  There  is  less 
space  between  river  and  P.O.  than  between 
east  and  river.  The  top  of  the  first  r  is 
small,  and  badly  proportioned ;  second  R  is 
better  shaped,  but  the  tail  comes  below  the 
line.  This  type  is  a  little  larger  than  any  of 
its  successors. 


II.,  a. — 23.  av.  D.  Figure  3,  with  rounded 
head.  The  execution  much  poorer  than  in 
I.  Side  of  ship  has  a  solid  appearance,  but, 
with  a  glass,  faint  traces  of  the  trellis  pat- 
tern may  be  discerned.  Funnel  of  ship 
thick,  and  with  well-defined  mouth,  smoke 
from  which  is  composed  of  dots,  extending 
to  and  curling  upwards  beyond  o.  There 
is  an  oblique  line  running  from  the  left  of 
funnel  to  the  side  of  ship.  The  mizzen-mast 
is  straight,  and  comes  to  a  level  with  the 
second  R  in  river.  Some  of  the  sails  are 
shaded.  Flag  more  or  less  solid,  curling 
downwards  to  a  point,  and  fixed  just  below 
the  head  of  staff.  The  sea  extends  on  the 
right  some  distance  past  the  flag  and  almost 
to  side  of  oval ;  it  is  shown  by  matted  lines 
with  two  wavy  lines  beneath.  On  the  left 
it  is  represented  by  six  long  wavy  lines,  and 
one  short  one,  all  at  about  equal  distance 
from  the  frame.  Upper  letters  are  thick, 
and  the  first  four  of  river  huddled  together. 
Between  river  and  P.  there  is  more  space 
than  between  east  and  river.  In  east  the  s 
is  large  and  misshaped  above,  giving  t  the 
appearance  of  being  lower  than  the  other 
letters. 

II.,  b.— 23...  av.  D.  Two  dots  after  23, 
otherwise  a  worn  state  of  a,  showing  absence 
of  bottom  stroke  to  the  T  in  east. 

II.,  c. — 23.  av  d.  No  dot  after  av.  Evi- 
dently b  touched  up,  without  much  im- 
provement,    s  and  T  of  east  uniform. 

III. — 18  AVE.  d.  Still  poorer  in  every 
detail.  Keel  of  ship  solid,  with  seven  port- 
holes on  left  side  of  paddle-box,  and  six  on 
right.  Funnel  not  so  thick  as  in  II.,  but 
thicker  than  in  I. ;  mouthpiece  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable. Smoke  represented  by  flaky 
lines,  reaching  to  below  the  period  after  0. 
A  line  from  funnel  to  the  side  of  vessel,  but 
specimens  are  known,  in  which,  through 
wear  of  the  stone,  this  line  is  absent.  The 
mizzen-mast  is  straight,  and  comes  under  the 
first  stroke  of  R.  Some  of  the  sails  are 
shaded,  and  those  on  the  mizzen-mast  seem 
to  be  furled.  The  flag  is  solid  near  the  staff, 
and  seemingly  shaded  towards  the  point, 
which  is  an  acute  one.  In  most  copies, 
through  heavy  printing,  the  entire  flag  ap- 
pears solid  :  it  is  fixed  about  half  way  down 
the  staff.     The  sea  extends,  on  both  sides, 


30 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


almost  to  the  oval.  It  is  very  indistinct ; 
but  appears  to  consist  of  wavy  lines  on  the 
left,  and  matted  lines  on  right.  Upper  in- 
scription of  rather  finer  letters  than  in  II. 
First  R  with  small  top  ;  second  better  pro- 
portioned ;  s  deeper  than  the  other  letters. 
The  space  between  east  and  river  is  a  little 
more  than  between  river  and  p.  This  type 
is  the  smallest  of  the  three. 

Forgeries. — I  believe  that  counterfeits  exist 
of  the  "  18  "  type  only.  Those  I  have  seen 
have  no  line  connecting  the  funnel  of  the 
steamer  with  the  side,  and  are  much  too 
clearly  drawn. 

I  know  of  two  varieties  of  these  impostures: 
in  one  the  paddle-box  is  very  distinct,  and 
shows  six  wedge-shaped  solid  pieces.  There 
are  ten  port-holes  on  the  left  side,  and  five 
on  the  right.  The  flag  has  a  solid  square  of 
shading  in  the  upper  portion  next  the  staff. 
No  dot  after  AVE. 

In  the  second  imitation,  the  paddle-box  re- 
sembles the  section  of  half  an  orange.  On 
the  left  are  ten  port-holes  ;  on  the  right,  six. 
There  is  a  dot  after  AVE,  and  the  flag  is  as  in 
the  previously  named  forgery. 

REVIEWS  of  POSTAL  PUBLICATIONS. 

The     Fhilatelical     Journal.       Birmingham : 

James  R.  Grant  &  Co. 
This  journal,  of  which  the  first  number  lies 
before  us,  is  brought  out  by  a  newly- 
established  firm  of  stamp  dealers,  and  edited 
by  our  old  friend,  Mr.  E.  L.  Pemberton. 
His  name  in  connection  with  it  is  a  guar- 
antee that  the  new  comer  will  be  properly 
and  spiritedly  conducted/and  of  this 'the 
opening  number  gives  fair  promise.  It  is 
well  written  and  well  printed,  and  we  cor- 
dially welcome  it  as  a  confrere. 

The  programme  with  which  it  opens, 
gives,  as  its  raison  d'etre,  that  it  will  be  pub- 
lished on  the  15th  of  every  month,  and  thus 
break  the  void  between  the  old-established 
magazines.  This  is  not,  perhaps,  a  very 
powerful  reason,  for  no  apology  of  the  kind 
is  really  needed  for  a  publication  whose  ex- 
cellence will  be  its  best  justification  ;  but  we 
must  not  bear  too  hard  on  a  programme, 
which  everyone  knows  is  a  most  difficult 
thing  to  write. 


Among  the  other  temptations  which  it 
offers  to  philatelists  is  that  of  publishing  the 
illustrations  of  the  stamps  in  their  proper 
colours,  following,  in  this  matter,  the  example 
of  the  American  Journal  of  Philately,  and, 
especially  for  very  rare  and  unattainable 
stamps,  these  coloured  engravings  will,  no 
doubt,  be  found  useful,  if  only  the  exact  tint 
of  the  real  stamps  can  be  reproduced.  Then 
our  "young"  friend  proposes  "to  give 
monthly,  under  the  title  of  '  Cream  of  the 
Magazines,'  a  most  important  condensation 
of  the  contents  of  all  the  leading  stamp 
papers,  so  that  its  subscribers  get  the  benefit 
of  everything  published  elsewhere."  We 
confess  we  feel  gratified  at  this  adoption  of 
the  plan  we  have  for  the  last  three  years 
carried  out  in  our  pages,  in  the  articles  en- 
titled "  Our  Contemporaries,"  for  we  have 
always  believed  that  such  articles,  in  which 
matters  of  varying  importance  can  be  con- 
versationally discussed  in  a  few  sentences, 
are  extremely  useful,  whilst  the  interchange 
of  criticism  acts  as  a  corrective  on  every 
journal  concerned.  We  are  glad,  indeed,  to 
see  the  system  taking  root,  and  to  see  our 
Birmingham  confrere  putting  forward  his 
"  cream  "  as  a  valuable  article ;  but,  in  so 
doing,  it  affords  to  this  magazine  the  means 
of  offering  a  superior  attraction.  Its  spe- 
ciality will  be  the  cream  of  the  magazines, 
but,  as  we,  in  "  Our  Contemporaries,"  shall 
be  able  to  review  The  Fhilatelical  Journal,  as 
well  as  all  the  other  leading  stamp  papers, 
we  can  offer  la  creme  de  la  creme. 

Now,  passing  from  the  programme,  we 
come  to  the  first  article,  which,  as  it  would 
not  have  been  difficult  to  predict,  is  by  the 
editor,  and  treats  of  forgeries,  and  how  to 
detect  them.  Mr.  Pemberton  has  taken  the 
highest  honours  in  forgery-detection,  and 
whatever  he  writes  upon  the  subject  is  of 
value.  This  latest  effort  of  his  is  written 
with  his  usual  freshness  and  verve,  and  the 
division  of  forgeries  into  classes  will  admit 
of  unusual  brevity  in  the  descriptions. 

In  the  "  Cream  of  the  Magazines,"  The 
Stamp -Collector's  Magazine  "  comes  to  the 
top,"  but  only  to  be  the  object  of  some  good- 
humoured  criticism  on  the  absence  of  any 
means  of  ascertaining  the  dates  of  the 
separate   numbers    when    they    are    bound. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


31 


This  is  a  little  matter  which  our  publishers 
will  no  doubt  set  right. 

We  are  glad  to  find  that  The  Phil. 
Journal  (we  must  abbreviate)  agrees  with  us 
about  the  German  field-post  cards.  Our 
Brighton  contemporary  stands  up  for  them 
on  strictly  logical  grounds  ; — they  are  postal, 
therefore  they  ought  to  be  collected.  But, 
says  our  new  confrere,  "It  is  a  penance  to 
gaze  on  them  to  anyone  with  the  slightest 
taste  for  art ;"  and  though  purists  may  cry 
out,  in  that  observation  lies  the  gist  of  the 
matter.  These  field-post  cards  have  come  in 
their  tens  and  their  twenties — had  there  been 
only  one  or  two  it  wouldn't  have  mattered 
much — and  they  come  from  one  of  the  fore- 
most of  European  countries.  One  might 
have  accepted  them  from  Madagascar,  as  an 
interesting  evidence  of  social  progress,  and 
carefully  noted  them  ;  but  from  a  European 
state  one  expects  something  better,  some- 
thing worthy  of  the  country  which  issues 
them,  and  the  incongruity  so  impresses  one 
as  to  lead  to  the  reflection — if  that's  all  that 
Germany  chooses  to  offer,  then,  coming  from 
her,  they  are  not  worth  collecting. 

In  the  same  connection,  towards  the  end 
of  the  article,  occur  the  following  remarks 
respecting  Dr.  Magnus'  monograph  in  Tie 
TLmbre-Poste  : — 

Dr.  Magnus  gives  us  more  of  the  entire  envelope  busi- 
ness; taking  Bavaria  in  this  number,  he  exhibits  a  won- 
derful amount  of  care,  and  a  wearisome  amount  of 
verbosity,  quite  inseparable  from  the  subject,  of  course 
(the  care,  not  the  verbosity)  ;  but,  really,  these  inter- 
minable lists  and  dissections  of  field-post  envelopes  be- 
come, like  a  dietary  of  boiled  -veal,  just  a  little  mono- 
tonous, and  after  a  few  months  of  either,  we  should  feel 
inclined  to  express  our  intention  of  being  buried  shortly, 
if  the  thing  went  on.  Far  be  it  from  us  to  contradict  any 
statement  of  Dr.  Magnus,  or  to  ridicule  anything  he 
writes  in  his  own  earnest  and  scientific  manner,  for  so 
long  as  he  writes  on  stamps,  so  long  shall  we  be  de- 
lighted to  republish,  but  lists  of  these  ridiculous  field-post 
envelopes  are  more  than  we  can  stand  ;  they  are  a  waste 
of  time  to  examine,  chronicle,  or  collect. 

This  is  a  frank  outspoken  protest,  in  which 
we  need  hardly  say  we  quite  coincide. 

Following  this  article  comes  "Novelties, 
Discoveries,  and  Resuscitations,"  and  then, 
"  The  Stamps  of  La  Guaira,"  by  the  Rev. 
R.  B.  Earee,  after  which  appears  "  Our 
Black  List."  In  this  list,  Mr.  Atlee,  fol- 
lowing the  system  we  are  proud  to  have  in- 
augurated, exposes  no  less  than  fifteen  dealers 


in  forged  stamps ;  or  rather,  we  should  say, 
fifteen  addresses,  for  they  appear  to  be  shared 
amongst  some  five  or  six  dealers.  The  Hull 
"  merchants  "  and  Mr.  Thompson,  of  Glas- 
gow, whose  doings  we  lately  discussed,  are 
among  the  number.  With*  Mr.  Thompson 
are  mentioned  four  other  dealers  : — 

C.  T.  Robinson,  Garnet  Hill  Street,  \ 

C.  H.  Hill,  Gordon  Street,  [r, 

Johnson  &  Ewing,  Elderslie  Place;,  j  ^iasS0W- 

J.  Bell  Gordon,  181,  Crown  Street,  ) 

They  all  send  out  the  same  kind  of  sheets  ; 
each  of  the  five  sheets  is  numbered  and 
priced  by  the  same  hand,  and  the  writing  on 
each  directed  envelope  is  identical. 

We  are  glad  of  such  an  able  colleague  as 
Mr.  Atlee,  the  writer  of  the  "black  list,"  in 
the  work  of  exposing  the  sellers  of  forgeries, 
and  he  may  at  all  times  count  on  our  as- 
sistance. 

"  Reviews,"  "  Facetice  Philatelies"  and 
"  Correspondence  "conclude  the  number.  The 
facetiae,  entitled  "  Our  Visit  to  a  Bung  and 
Gargle  Label  Store,"  is  a  clever  hit  at  our 
American  friends,  though  slightly  strained. 
The  correspondence  consists  of  a  very  curious 
letter  from  the  States,  received  by  the  editor, 
which  is  either  a  good  satire  or  a  bad  attempt 
to  swindle,  in  connection  with  pretended 
discoveries  of  Confederate  locals. 

We  have  now  exhausted  our  allotted 
space.  We  give  our  new  confrere  kindly 
greeting :  we  shall  be  looking  out  for  him 
about  the  15th  February,  and  we  have  no 
doubt  many  of  our  readers  will  be  on  the 
look  out  also. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

POSTAL  TELEGRAPH  CARDS. 

To  the  Editor  ofi%  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Sir,  —Some  of  your  readers  may  be  glad  to  learn  that 
a  postal  telegraph  card  is  to  be  issued.  It  will  be  about 
the  same  size  as  an  ordinary  post  card,  of  a  dark  buff 
colour,  with  an  olive-green  embossed  shilling  stamp  (like 
that  issued  in  1847)  in  the  left  upper  corner,  and  twenty 
spaces  in  which  to  write  the  message.  On  the  back  are 
printed  directions  for  use,  &c.  riy  keeping  a  stock  of 
these  cards,  one  can  write  a  telegram  at  any  time  after  the 
post-office  is  closed,  and  slip  it  into  a  pillar-box,  which 
being  cleared  the  first  thing  in  the  morning,  the  tele- 
gram will  be  copied  at  the  post-office  and  sent  off  to  its 
destination  at  once. 

Your  obedientlv, 

Forest  mil.  "     W.  J,  II. 


32 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


RUSSIAN   LOCALS.— YALDAI. 
To  the  Editor  of '"The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazese." 

Dear  Sir, — In  the  January  number  of  your  magazine 
I  saw  described  and  illustrated  the  Bussia'n  local  stamp 
of  Yaldai,  which,  being  divided  by  a  line  into  two  halves, 
shows  in  the  left  one  a  crown,  and  in  the  right  a  peak. 
Tou  say  further,  in  the  course  of  its  description,  "  The 
label  bints  at  the  existence  of  a  mountain;  what  and 
where  is  that  mountain:"  Tou  are  perfectly  right  in 
asking  that  question.  The  mountains  do  exist,  and  bear 
the  same  name  as  the  small  town  of  Yaldai  and  its  dis- 
trict, whence  thg  above  stamp  comes.  The  Yaldai  moun- 
tains, about  200  English  miles  long,  50  miles  wide, 
situated  in  tbe  south-eastern  part  of  the  "  gouvcrnement," 
or  county,  of  Novgorod,  are  the  highest  elevations  in 
Russia  Proper,  and  it  is  there  that  the  Yolga,  Duna, 
Dnieper,  and  other  rivers,  take  their  source. 

The  peak  on  that  label  may  therefore  be  an  intimation 
of  the  geographical  feature  of  the  country,  or  probably 
the  crown,  together  with  the  peak,  may  represent  the 
coat  of  arms  of  that  small  town,  or  rather  the  district  of 
Yaldai. 

I  shall  try  to  get  some  more  information  as  to  these 
Eussian  locals,  which,  when  obtained,  I  shall  be  glad  to 
communicate  to  you,  if  desirable. 

Trusting  these  remarks  may  prove  of  some  use, 
I  remain,  dear  Sir, 

Yours  verv  trulv, 

Liverpool.  JOHN" 'SEE  WERT. 

[Another  correspondent  writes  us  that  "  the  Valdai  hills  are  ahout  1200 
feet  in  height,  and.  wi:h  the  exception  of  the  Ural  Mountains,  and  a  few 
i  iniuences  in  the  Crimea,  are  almost  the  only  hills  in  European  Russia; 
they  have  therefore  attracted  more  attention  than  they  would  have 
received  in  a  less  flat  country." — Ed.] 


ANSWERS  TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 

W.  E.  C,  Alatloek  Bank.— Many  thanks  for  information 
respecting  the  ><ew  Zealand  stamps  in  the  new  colours. 

C.  M.,  Plymouth. — All  the  large  sixpenny  Xew  South 
Wales  are  from  the  same  dies,  or  casts,  but  there  are  great 
differences  in  the  execution. 

A\  .  H.  D.,  Great  Grimsby. — The  fact   that  the  ver- 
milion penny  >~evis  were  not  from  the  same  die  as  the  old   ' 
lake-red  has  been  duly  noticed. 

AY.  E.  H.,  Grantham. — AYe  are  obliged  for  manuscript  ! 
copy  of  your  communication  to  The  Philatelist  (of  Jan-  ) 
uary),  respecting  the  Trinidad  too-late  stamps. 

H.  AY.,  London. — We  do  not  remember  having  heard 
that  it  is  the  intention  of  the  Indian  government  to  adopt 
the  decimal  system,  though  we  should  not  be  surprised  if 
such  were  the  case,  but  no  step  in  that  direction  has  yet 
been  taken. 

J.  K.  L.,  Cork,  asks  us  to  explain  how  two  AYells 
Fargo,  &  Co.'s  envelopes,  which  he  found  in  an  Irish 
country  town,  could  have  got  there.  It  is  a  difficult 
question,  but  we  should  think  that  some  one  who  had  '■ 
been  in  California,  and  had  received  them,  brought  them 
over. 

B.  H.,  Braintree.— Your  provisional  9d.  Yictorian  was  j 
noticed  at  p.  104  of  our  last  volume  ;  the  provisional  South  ! 
Australia  3d.  has  also  been  duly  catalogued. — The  British 
Guiana,  on  watermarked  paper,  are  accepted  by  all  col- 
lectors.— No  argument  is  needed  to  prove  that  the  head  on 
the  current  Sarawak  stamp  is  that  of  the  present  Eajah  ; 
it  is  a  known  fact. 

A.  AY.  S.— The  very  coarsely  lithographed  20  c.   re-   j 
public,  blue,  respecting  which  yon  are  in  doubt,  is  quite 
genuine,  though  but  few  of  this  variety  arc  to  be  found. 


AYe  had  a  portion  of  a  sheet,  purchased  at  a  French  post- 
office,  of  which  all  the  stamps  were  like  yours ;  and  the 
very  first  specimen  of  the  lithographed  series  that  we 
saw  was  one  of  this  kind,  which  we  received  on  a  letter 
from  Laval. 

AY,  V.,  Alston,  Cumb. — This  gentleman  has  been  a  sub- 
scriber to  our  magazine  from  its  commencement ;  and,  on 
remitting  our  publishers  his  subscription  for  the  present 
year,  he  is  kind  enough  to  express  his  satisfaction  at  its 
appearance.  He  also  encloses  a  letter  on  the  different 
album  systems,  which  we  shall  have  pleasure  in  re- 
producing in  our  nest.  Our  old  friend  may  rely  upon  our 
publishers  introducing,  as  often  as  possible,  "illustrations  of 
rarities,  such  as  those  of  the  Californian  envelopes  in  our 
December  number,  with  which  he,  and  many  other  of  our 
readers,  were  pleased. 

Jas.  X.  R.,  Scarborough. — The  translation  from  the 
Opinion  Xationale,  which  you  are  good  enough  to  send, 
is,  in  effect,  the  same  as  we  published  in  our  January 
number. — The  design  described  in  our  July  number  can- 
not really  have  been  used  in  Lorraine,  malgre  the  assertion 
of  the  war  correspondent  to  whom  you  refer. — The  black 
penny  South  African  Republic  was  noticed  on  page  80  of 
our  last  volume;  but  we  must  plead  guilty  to  having 
omitted  to  notice  the  lilac  Rigi-Scheideck.— AYe  have 
handed  your  Admiralty  frank  stamp  to  Mr.  Atlee. — Your 
English  -id.,  with  inverted  garter,  is  also  mentioned  by 
another  correspondent  this  month. — Your  information 
that  the  broad-arrow  obliteration  on  the  post  cards  is  used 
exclusively  at  St.  Martin's-le-Grand,  the  notch  in  the 
side  of  the  card  by  the  Manchester  office,  and  the  round 
hole  punched  in  the  centre  stamp  by  that  of  Bradford,  is 
new  and  interesting.  Your  observation  that  the  date- 
stamp  is  nearly  always  struck  over  the  stamp,  and  is  un- 
accompanied with  the  second  obliterating  stamp,  with 
number  and  bars,  is  also  worthy  of  note.  No  doubt  the 
cards  are  sorted  and  postmarked  apart  from  the  others, 
only  the  date-stamps,  the  more  important  of  the  two,  being 
used  for  the  cancellation. 

B.  del  C,  Torquay. — AYe  attach  no  value  whatever  to 
your  "  Lorin"  5  c.  stamp,  supposed  to  have  been  issued 
by  a  private  office,  during  the  reign  of  the  Commune, 
even  though  offered  for  sale  by  M.  Maury.  Private 
offices  did  exist,  and  did  a  fair  stroke  of  business,  but  not 
enough  to  necessitate  stamps.  The  proprietors  would  not 
go  to  the  expense  of  printing  them,  whilst  they  could  get 
on  so  well  without  them,  especially  as  they  could  not 
tell,  from  day  to  day,  how  soon  the  insurrection  might 
cease.  AYe  saw  a  good  many  office-proprietor's  advertise- 
ments in  the  French  papers,  and  placards  on  French  walls, 
during  the  Commune,  and,  in  none  of  them,  was  it  ever  a 
question  of  employing  stamps.  No  offices  were  opened  in 
the  provinces  for  the  sale  of  such  stamps,  the  government 
would  not  have  allowed  it,  and  in  Paris  the  postal  service 
was  performed  by  the  Communist  authorities.  In  M. 
Maury's  circular,  offering  private-office  labels,  among 
others,  there  are  three  chiffre-taxe  stamps— as  if  a  regular 
system  of  postage  had  been  elaborated  by  the  issuers! 
Had  any  stamps  really  been  issued,  they  would  be  very 
rare  now,  and  the  facial  values  also  would  have  been  high, 
for  the  service  they  would  have  been  supposed  to  purchase 
was  a  ri6ky  one  ;  but  the  facial  value  of  those  offered  by 
Maury  varies  from  5  to  50  centimes,  and  the  present  sell- 
ing price  from  10  to  75  centimes.  The  stamp  you  send 
has,  to  us,  every  appearance  of  being  as  much  got  up  to 
deceive  collectors  as  the  Hamburg  labels,  and  we  hope 
that,  though  they  may  find  a  place  in  the  albums  of  Lallier 
and  Maury,  all  English  collectors  will  have  the  sense  to 
reject  them. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


33 


NOTES  ON 
THE  LOCALS  OF  CALIFORNIA 

AND  THE 

WESTERN   STATES    OF   AMERICA. 
II. 

HY  EDWARD  E.    PEMBEUTON. 

{Continued from  vol.  is..,  p.  1S2.) 

It  is  difficult  to  make  a  commencement,  or 
to  lay  down  any  plan  of  arrangement,  but  it 
appears  to  me  equally  impracticable  to  de- 
scribe alphabetically  or  chronologically;  the 
latter  my  knowledge  will  not  permit  me  to 
do,  whilst  the  former  cannot  be  done  com- 
pletely, owing  to  fresh  information  of  de- 
funct expresses  continually  arriving.  As 
these  franks  are  at  once  divisible  into,  1st, 
handstamped  ;  2nd,  type  set,  or  engraved  ; 
3rd,  adhesive ;  I  cannot  see  a  better  plan 
than  to  follow  this  simple  and  natural  classi- 
fication. There  are  great  diversities  of 
opinion  as  to  the  postal  value  of  many  of  the 
earlier  handstamps,  so  when  I  have  de- 
scribed wrhat  are  known,  I  shall  throw  all 
the  light  I  can  upon  their  character;  mean- 
while it  is  my  opinion  that  they  are  per- 
fectly collectable,  for  of  the  postal  nature  of 
the  majority  there  seems  no  doubt;  they 
were  made  to  answer  a  sudden  want,  and 
their  plainness  does  not  militate  against 
them  in  the  least. 

The  handstamped  franks  are  nearly  ex- 
clusively confined  to  the  earliest  years  of 
San  Francisco's  existence,  and  are,  conse- 
quently, mostly  to  be  found  on  letter-sheets 
and  plain  envelopes,  before  the  introduction 
of  embossed  envelopes,  and  before  the  go- 
vernment rights  as  to  the  transmission  of 
mail  matters  appear  to  have  been  properly 
settled  or  understood  ;  but  in  this  latter  idea, 
I  may  be  mistaken.  Mr.  Lomler,  Mrs.  Craig, 
and  other  friends  in  California,  have  given 
me  extracts  from  the  advertisements  of  their 
oldest  newspapers,  which  are  of  extreme 
value,  and  which  bring  before  our  notice 
numerous  expresses  of  whose  existence 
hardly  any  collector  was  aware,  and  of  whose 
franks  there  are  no  known  specimens  in 
many  cases.  The  value  of  such  notes  must 
be  apparent  to  all  philatelists,  and  I  trust 
that  collectors  possessing  information,  or 
specimens  unknown  to  me — and  these  are 


most  certain  contingencies — will  have  the 
kindness  to  assist  me,  or  to  add  to  my  stock 
of  laboriously  acquired  facts.  It  is  very 
difficult  for  me,  so  far  away  from  the  birth- 
place of  these  scarce  old  locals,  to  elicit  in- 
formation. Persons  sending  me  specimens 
seem  to  imagine  that  no  more  can  be  de- 
sired, so  there  are  many  things  I  cannot 
describe  in  these  papers,  because  I  have  no 
means  of  authenticating  them,  and  fear  to 
"put  my  foot  in  it,"  to  use  an  expressive 
vulgarism.  As  instances  of  what  I  mean,  I  may 
particularize  by  name  M,  P.  Freeman's  Pony 
Express,  and  Langton's  Nevada  Mail  and 
Express  Company,  both  on  1864  envelopes, 
and  quite  unauthenticated,  though  pretty 
well  known. 

There  are  no  exhaustive  monographs  on 
these  locals  to  be  found  in  the  American 
magazines,  and  the  only  list  ever  pub- 
lished by  anyone  but  the  writer  is'  in  The 
American  Journal  of  Philately,  copied  from 
the  Curiosity  Cabinet  of  last  August. 
As  a  specimen  of  how  an  American  editor 
can  spell  the  names  of  indigenous  ex- 
presses, this  list  shows  merit.  Taking  a 
fair  average,  not  more  than  twenty  per  cent, 
of  the  names  are  spelt  wrongly  (I  don't 
reckon  errors  of  technical  description  at  all 
in  this  calculation).  I  have  only  to  say, 
that  when  a  man  is  reading  Russian,  he 
knows  what  to  expect,  and  nothing  will 
surprise  him,  but  when  he  comes  to  the 
American  journals  on  Western  Locals,  there 
ought  to  be  no  orthographical  vagaries :  one 
might  stand  vermilion  with  "  11 ",  but  not  the 
following  American  renderings  of  nineteen 
names  in  their  own  States  : — 
Atla  should  be  Alta. 

Dougherty  ,,  Doherty. 

Downie  Villa  ,,  Downieville. 

Evarts  (twice  over)  ,,  Everts. 

Grant  &  Taggart  „  Grant  I.  Taggart. 

Lotta  „  Latta's. 

Los  Angelos  „  Los  Angeles. 

Nicols  „  Nichols. 

Oregan  „  Oregon. 

Perce's  ,,  Perces. 

Pescadora  (twice  over)  )  „  Pescadero. 

Pescadoro  J ,, 

Tale  „ 

Thomas  , , 

Tibbetts  „ 

Tracey  ,, 

S.I.  R.  (Trumans)  „ 


Vancouver's 
Wand  &  Davies 


Yale. 

Thomes. 

Tibbetts. 

Tracy. 

S.  J.  R. 

Vancouver. 

Mead  &  Davis. 


34 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


From  this  sample  the  student  may  judge 
that  there  is  not  much  to  be  learnt  from 
this  list  ;  errors  in  description  of  locals, 
formerly  described  by  me  from  hearsay,  are 
righteously  copied,  though  without  acknow- 
ledgment. 

The  following  dates  and  names  of  earliest 
expresses  are  from  information  received  in 
many  cases  from  the  original  proprietors  : — 


July,  1849. 
Sept..    „ 
Nor.,    „ 


May,  1850. 


Not.,  1853. 


Todd  &  Brvan. 
Hawley&Co. 

Berford  &  Co. 

Adams  <£:  Co. 

Gregory  &  Co. 

Lount  &  Co. 

Craik's  Express. 

Brown's  Express. 

Reynold's  Express. 

Todd  &  Co. 

Oram,  Rogers,  6c  Co. 

Hunter  <fc  Co, 

Bowers  &  Co. 

Langton  k  Co. 
Oct.,  1851.  Newell  &  Co. 

Reynolds,  Todd,  &  Co. 
April,  1852.  Todd's  Express. 

The  following  expresses  are  advertised 
in  papers  of  the  annexed  dates,  and  I  am 
indebted  to  Mr.  Lomler  for  the  informa- 
tion : — 


Winter  &  Latimer, 
Angle  &  Co., 
West  &  Co., 
Dodge  &  C  j  . 
Mum  by  &  Co., 
Rhodes  k  husk, 
Anthony  jc  Co., 
A\ .  F.  Here, 
J.  W.  Hoajr, 


Jan.,  1850. 
May,  „ 
Aug.,  „ 

Nov.,  .. 
May,  1851. 
April.  1852. 
March,  1853. 
End,  1853. 
Oct.,  1855. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  I  have  to  add  the 
following,  which  appear  handstamped  on 
plain  envelopes  : — 

Palmer  £ 
Blake's  Express. 
Kumrill  £  Co. 
"V*  in-j's  Express. 

I  have  only  seen  the  first. 

After  this  date  printed  franks  became  more 
numerous,  and  will  be  described  in  their  due 
order. 

In  that  very  valuable  work,  The  Annals  of 
San  Francisco,  page  200,  we  find  in  the 
chronicle  for  1848  the  following  item  : 

The  "California  Star  Express"  left  San 

•      proceed   overland   to   Independence,    M<>. 

iranteed  to  be  accomplished  in  sixty 

days.     Fifty  cents  was  charged  as  the  postage  on  single 

letters. 

The  title  of  this  Express  appears  to  have 


been  copied  from  a  paper  of  the  same  name. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  the  Express  itself 
was  established  by  the  proprietors  of  the 
journal.  The  men  who  possessed  enterprise 
enough  to  start  a  paper  in  the  then  in- 
significant Mexican  town,  are  likely  also  to 
have  perceived  the  necessity  of  initiating 
some  means  of  communication  with  the 
States.  Their  newspaper,  The  California  Star, 
was  almost  the  earliest  published  in  Califor- 
nia ;  the  first  number  was  issued  January  7. 
1847,  and  it  appeared  every  Saturday.  It 
was  published  by  Mr.  Samuel  Brannan,  and 
edited  by  Dr.  E.  P.  Jones.  The  very 
first  newspaper  published  in  English,  or 
indeed  in  any  other  language,  in  the  State, 
was  The  California  n:  also  a  weekly  issue, 
which  was  started  August  15,  18-16,  and 
published  at  Monterey,  by  Messrs.  Colton 
and  Semple  ;  Commodore  Stockton,  how- 
ever, was  its  originator.  As  a  specimen  of  the 
difficulties  experienced  in  getting  out  their 
paper,  the  proprietors  give  the  following 
explanatory  and  apologetic  note  for  its 
rude  appearance  on  one  occasion,  which  we 
copy  literally. 

Ot'K  Alphabet. — Our  type  is  a  Spanish  font,  picked 
np  here  in  a  cloister,  and  has  no  VVs  in  it.  as  there  is 
none  in  the  Spanish  alphabet.  I  haye  sent  to  the  sand- 
yvich  Islands  for  this  letter;  in  the  meantime  yye  must 
use  tyyo  Vs.  Our  paper  at  present  is  that  used  for 
yyrapping  segars ;  in  due  time  yye  yvill  haye  some- 
thing better :  our  object  is  to  establise  a  press  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  this  yye  shall  in  all  probability  be  able  to 
accomplish.  The  absence  of  my  partner  for  the  last  three 
months  and  my  buties  as  Alcadd  here  haye  dedriyed  our 
little  paper  of  some  of  those  attentions  yyhich  I  hope  it 
yyill  hereafter  receive. 

Walter  Colton*. 

This  is  rather  a  digression,  but  will  show 
our  readers  the  extreme  primitiveness  of 
everything  in  those  early  days  of  San 
Francisco.  In  the  latter  part  of  June,  1847, 
the  population  of  the  city  was  bat  459  :  and, 
until  the  30th  of  January.  1>^4~,  the  town 
held  its  old  local  Spanish  name  of  Yerba 
Buena,  signifying  mint,  great  quantities  of 
which  herb  grew  about  the  spot,  ,;  The 
name  of  so  insignificant  a:i  herb  for  the 
rising  city  being,  perhaps,  judged  not  suf- 
ficiently imposing,  it  was  changed  into  San 
Francisco,  by  an  ordinance  of  the  three 
alcaldes  of  the  place  :  and  under  this  last  de- 
signation it   has  been  alone  known  to  the 


THE   STAMI>- COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZIKE. 


35 


world  at  large."  To  revert  to  the  Cali- 
fornia Star  Express:  it  is  the  opinion,  of  my 
San  Francisco  friends  that  there  is  some  sort 
of  a  mistake  about  it,  and,  at  all  events,  as 
it  ran  before  California  was  formally  ceded 
to  the  States,  it  was  on  a  different  footing  to 
the  other  express  companies,  and,  must 
probably,  had  no  frank  of  its  own.  Perhaps 
some  of  our  Californian  readers  can  find  a 
trace  of  this  old  express  in  the  file  of  the  two 
earliest  papers. 

It  is  difficult  for  Europeans  to  properly 
understand  the  enterprise  of  such  men  as  Mr. 
Samuel  Brannan,  (Commodore  Stockton,  and 
others,  in  establishing  a  press  in  California, 
or  of  Mr.  Todd  in  commencing  the  Express 
business,  but  the  civilising  effects,  and  the 
wondrous  changes  that  they  have  assisted  to 
bring  about  in  that  magniticent  territory, 
should  be  matters  of  history. 

In  April,  1847,  we  read,  "Semi-monthly 
mails  established  between  San  Diego  and 
intermediate  places." 

And  now  we  come  to  the  time  when  San 
Francisco  began  to  attract  attention  in  the 
States,  and  we  find  the  following  intelligence 
in  the  above- quoted  work. 

On  February  28th,  1819,  the  steamship  Calif ornia.hemg 
the  first  of  the  line  of  mail  steamers  along  the  coast,  ar- 
rived. March  31st,  Col.  Geary  had  been  appointed  post- 
master for  San  Francisco,  with  powers  to  create  post- 
offices,  and  appoint  postmast<  rs  throughout  the  territory  ; 
also  to  establish  mail  routes,  and  make  contracts  for  car- 
rying the  mails.  He  brought  with  him  the  first  regular 
mail j 'torn  the  Atlantic  States  that  teas  opened  in  San 
Francisco. 

That  is  all  the  information  we  can  glean 
from  The  Annals  as  to  postal  matters,  and  as 
altogether  nearly  forty  thousand  immigrants 
landed  in  San  Francisco  during  1849,  it  will 
not  cause  surprise  that  many  expresses 
sprung  into  existence  when  the  public  ar- 
rangements for  the  conveyance  of  letters, 
&c,  were  so  inadequate.  These  we  now 
proceed  to  discuss. 

First  Part.     Hakdstamped  Franks,  on  plain 

Envelopes,  without  paying  Government 

Tax.     Collectable  at  option. 

We  must  commence,  we  suppose,  with  the 

earliest  express  in  operation  after  California 

was  formally  recognised  as  part  of  the  Union, 

and,   therefore,    ignore    the    California    Star 

Express  in  this  connection. 


Todd  &  Bryan's  Express.— In  July,  1849, 
Messrs.  A.  H.  Todd  and  Benjamin  Bryan 
conceived  the  idea  of  starting  an  express  be- 
tween San  Francisco  and  the  Southern 
mines,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  all  letters 
from  the  post-office  (the  only  office  in  Cali- 
fornia being  Col.  Greary's,  in  San  Francisco), 
and  delivering  them  to  the  miners,  at  the 
then  so-called  moderate  rate  of  8, 12,  or  even 
16  dollars  each  ;  and  the  happy  recipients  of 
these  favours  were  so  pleased  to  have  news 
from  home,  that  they  often  insisted  on  the 
express  agent  taking  a  lump  of  gold,  worth 
much  more,  in  payment.  Often  one  of  the 
proprietors  had  (after  a  hard  day's  riding, 
swimming  rivers,  and  bringing  the  mail  in 
at  the  peril  of  his  life)  to  be  called  on,  by 
diggers  who  could  not  write,  to  answer  their 
letters,  receiving  in  return  50  dollars  for  the 
service  !  Such  sums  appear  to  us  almost  fabu- 
lous ;  but  dip  into  The  Annals,  and  this  re- 
muneration is  nothing  ;  on  page  367  we  read 
that  an  egg  was  worth  1  dollar,  and  common 
iron  tacks,  of  the  smallest  size,  sold  for  their 
weight  in  gold;  and,  for  a  long  period,  w^ere 
in  request  at  from  five  to  ten  dollars  an 
ounce!  Everything  that  was  really  useful 
and  needed  in  those  earlier  days  commanded 
the  most  astonishing  prices  ;  the  supply  of 
necessaries  was  limited,  and  the  demand 
great,  while  money  was  suddenly  plentiful. 

From  carrying  letters,  the  business  of 
Todd  and  Bryan  soon  became  a  large  one, 
and  extended  itself  to  transporting  treasure, 
packages,  &c,  and  many  thousands  of  dollars 
were  weekly  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Mr.  Todd  is  now  called  the  "pioneer  express- 
man of  California,"  a  name  which  he  un- 
doubtedly deserves.  This  paper  would  be 
quite  incomplete  without  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  extreme  courtesy  with  which  lie 
has  given  every  information  in  his  power, 
information  here  embodied  which  few  per- 
sons were  so  competent  to  supply,  and 
which  few  would  have  taken  the  trouble  to 
impart.  As  the  name  of  Mr.  Todd  is 
mixed  up  in  the  constitution  of  four  dis- 
tinct expresses,  we  had  better  take  the  other 
companies,  into  which  Todd's  name  after- 
wards extended,  and  go  through  all  their 
ramifications. 

In     September,    1819,     two    gentlemen  — 


36 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


named,  respectively,  Hawley  and  Spear — 
seeing -what  a  good  business  Todd  &  Bryan 
were  doing,  followed  suit,  from  Sacramento, 
calling  themselves  Hawley  &  Co.'s  express. 
Shortly  afterwards,  other  companies  sprang 
rapidly  into  existence  ;  the  population  was 
so  increasing,  and  communication  was  so 
undeveloped,  that  we  must  not  wonder  at 
the  quantity  of  names,  all  of  which  repre- 
sented flourishing  expresses. 

The  expresses  through  which  the  name  of 
Mr.  Todcf  runs,  and  with  which  it  is  con- 
nected, are  the  following  : — 

July,  1849,       Todd  &  Bryan. 
May,  1850,       Todd  &  Co. 

Brown's  Express. 
Reynold's  Express. 
Oct.  3,  1851,    Newell  &  Co. 

Reynolds,  Todd,  &  Co. 
April  22, 1852,  Todd's  Express. 
Mat,  1850,  Todd  &  Co.— About  this  time 
Messrs.  A.  H.  Todd  &  B.  Bryan  dissolved 
partnership,  and  A.  H.  Todd  entered  into 
partnership  with  L.  W.  Newell  and  E.  W. 
Colt,  and  carried  all  express  matters  "under 
the  name  above.  The  only  handstamp  we 
have  seen  is  a  large  oval,  simply  inscribed 

FORWARDED  BY  TODD  &  CO.'S  EXPRESS,  STOCK- 
TON. 

Mat,   1850,   Brown's    Express. — Erom  a 

paper  of  this  date  we  extract  the  following 

advertisement  :— 

BROWS'8  KXPRF88.- This  Express  will  here- 
after connect  with  Todd  &  Co.,  through  them  with  Adams  &  Co.  tu  the 
States  and  Europe. 

Persona  wishing  to  send  htters  or  packages  to  any  mines  on  the 
Mukeluiune  or  Calaveras  rivers,  and  Murphy's,  Angel's,  and  Carson's 
diggings,  can  send  daily  through  this  Express,  bv  leaving  their  letters  at 
the  office  of  Todd  &  Co.,  Stockton  and  San  Francisco. 

May,  1850,  Reynolds  &  Co.'s  Express. — 
The  proprietors  of  this  express  were  Angerine 
Reynolds,  Aug.  S.  Reynolds,  and  J.  D.  P. 
Wilkins.  They  started  about  this  date,  and 
run  from  San  Francisco  to  Stockton,  Sonora, 
and  the  southern  mines.  The  only  hand- 
stamp  we  have  seen  is  one  similar  to  Todd 
&  Co.'s,  but  a  double  oval,  with  name  of 
town  in  centre.  They  ran  in  connection 
with  Todd  &  Co.,  until  a  notice,  dated  June 
14,  1851,  tells  us  that  their  connection  with 
that  company  having  ceased,  they  had  made 
arrangements  to  run  a  daily  express  through 
from  San  Francisco  to  Stockton,  &c,  on 
their  own  account. 


Oct.  3,  1851.  Newell  &  Co. — From  a 
paper  of  this  date  we  hear  of  the  dissolution 
of  the  firm  of  Todd  &  Co. ;  this  is  the  ad- 
vertisement : — 

Stockton,    Southern   Mines   and    Oregon. 

NEWELL  &   CO.'S  EXPRESS. 

The  undersigned,  formerly  partners  in  the  firm  of  Todd  St  Co.,  having 
purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  A.  H.  Todd  in  the  said  firm,  will  continue 
the  Express  business  under  the  name  and  style  of  NEWELL  &  CO. 

We  shall  continue  to  draw,  in  Stockton  and  Sonora,  Bills  of  Exchange 
upon  Adams  &  Co..  payable  in  all  the  principal  cities  of  the  Union. 

Also,  to  receipt  through  to  the  States  for  paekages  by  their  express. 

Ko  other  Firm  in  Stockton  or  the  Southern  Mines  being  authorised  to  do 
the  same. 

Our  Express  between  San  Francisco.  Stockton,  Oregon,  and  the 
Southern  .Mines,  will  be  continued  as  usual. 

L,  W.    NEWELL, 
E.   W.  COLT. 

Newell  &  Co.  are  authorised  to  draw  Bills  of  Exchange  on  any  of  our 
houses  in  the  Atlantic  States. 

ADAMS  &  CO. 

We  have  not  seen  any  frank  of  this  express 
company.  Mr.  A.  H.  Todd  now  joined  the 
firm  of  Reynolds  &  Co.,  mentioned  above, 
and  in  a  paper  of  the  above  date  is  a  notice 
of  the  new  firm,  viz.  : — 

Oct.  3,  1851,  Reynolds,  Todd,  &  Co. — 
Their  advertisement  says  that  "Mr.  A.  H. 
Todd,  formerly  the  senior  partner  in  the  firm 
of  Todd  &  Co.,  is  now  one  of  the  partners  in 
the  firm  of  Reynolds,  Todd,  &  Co."  They 
ran  a  daily  express  from  San  Francisco  to 
Stockton,  Sonora,  Moquelumne  Hill,  and  all 
parts  of  the  southern  mines.  About  this  time 
they  purchased  out  Brown's  Express.  Their 
handstamp  is  a  larg-e  oval,  of  the  usual  type, 
with  name  of  issuing  town  in  the  lower  edge. 

April  22,  1852,  Todd's  Express. — The 
following  was  their  first  advertisement : — 

TODD'S     F.XPRKS8.-C.  A.   TODD,   Proprietor, 

successor  to  Reynolds,  Todd  &  Co.— On  andafrer  this  date,  C.  A.  TODD 
will  run  a  Daily  Express  to  Stockton.  Sonora.  Columbia  Mariposa.  Agua 
Frio,  Quartzburg.  Double  Springs,  Moquelumne  Hill,  and  all  parts  of 
the  Southern  Mines. 

Gold  Dust,  Specie,  valuable  Packages,  &c,  &c.  received  and  forwarded. 
Notes,  Accounts,  &c,  collected,  and  all  business  pertaining  to  an 
Express  promptly  attended  to. 

A  Stage  will  leave  the  office  on  the  Levee  at  Stockton  daily,  for  each  of 
the  above-named  places. 

C.  A.  Todi  having  purchased  the  business  together  with  the  good-will 
of  the  late  firm  of  Reynolds,  Todd  &  Co.,  would  respectfully  solicit  a 
continuance  of  the  patronage  heretofore  so  liberally  bestowed  upon  the 
old  firm,  and  trusts  by  strict  attention  to  his  business  to  merit  the  same. 

Office  in  San  Francisco  with  Joseph  W.  Gregory,  corner  of  Merchant 
and  Montgomery  sts.  C.   A.   TODD. 

San  Francisco,  April  22,  1852. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  original  part- 
ners— the  two  Reynolds,  J.  D.  P.  Wilkins, 
and  A.  H.  Todd — were  all  bought  out  by 
C.  A.  Todd,  of  this  last  Todd's  Express. 
There  are  two  handstamps,  one  an  upright 
octagon,  with  four  short  angles,  lettered 
from  todd's  express  office,  sonora;  the 
other  is  the  usual  transverse  oval,  for- 
warded   by    todd's    express,  with  name   of 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


37 


issuing  town  or  office  ;  paid  on  these  and  on 
all  the  others  is  invariably  struck  away  from 
the  handstamp.  This  express  had  an  in- 
dependent existence  until  September  1st, 
1853,  when -it  was  bought  out  by  Wells, 
Fargo,  &  Co.,  and  after  then  we  hear  no  more 
of  Todd  in  connection  with  express  com- 
panies. We  annex  the  public  notice,  to 
render  the  matter  complete. 
EXPRESS   NOTICE The  undersigned, 

I J  proprietor  of  TODD'S  EXPRESS,  has  sold  out  his  entire  interest 
therein,  together  with  the  good-will  of  Hie  same,  to  WELLS,  FARGO  & 
CO.,  and  commend  them  to  the  favour  and  patronage  of  his  friends  and 
the  public  generally.    . 

C.  A.   TODD. 
San  Franc:sco,  Sept.  1st,  1853. 

WELLS,   FARGO   &  CO. 

SOUTHERN    EXPRESS. 

Mr.    TODD    having  disposed    of   his   interest     in    the    SOUTHERN 
EXPRESS    to    us,    we    shall    run    a    DAILY    EXPRESS   to   and  from 
SAN   FRAXCiSCO,  STOCKTOV.  SOXORA, 

COLUMBIA,  MURPHEY'S  FLAT, 

and  MOKELUMXE  HILL. 
Connecting  with  a  Daily  Express   at   Stockton,  for  Mt.   OPHIR    and 
MARIPOSA. 
A  special  messenger  is  sent  from  San  Francisco  to  Columbia. 
WELLS,  FARGO  &  Co., 

114,  Montgomery  st. 

Thus  out  of  the  seven  expresses  mentioned, 
six  of  them  were  gradually  absorbed,  till  at 
last  their  business  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Wells,  Fargo,  &  Co.  ;  the  only  one  which 
appears  to  have  had  a  separate  existence 
being  Newell  Sf  Co.'s,  but  we  have  no  further 
notes  to  oiFer  respecting  them. 
(7b  be  continued). 

OUR   CONTEMPORARIES. 

Le  Timbre-Poste. — The  October  number  con- 
tains an  analysis  of  Dr.  Magnus'  arguments 
respecting  certain  stamps  of  the  Philippines, 
and  in  the  succeeding  number  appears  the 
learned  doctor's  reply.  We  have  not  yet 
had  time  to  go  into  the  matter  ourselves, 
but  we  hope  shortly  to  lay  before  our  readers 
a  resume  of  the  disputants'  views ;  more 
especially,  as  in  a  former  volume  of  this 
magazine  we  gave  a  literal  translation  of  Dr. 
Magnus'  original  paper  on  the  stamps  in 
question. 

In  the  October  number  there  also  appears 
a  readable  article  on  the  Luxembourg  stamps, 
and  an  instalment  of  Dr.  Magnus'  mono- 
graph on  envelope  stamps.  On  glancing 
over  this  latter,  we  are  gratified  to  observe 
that  the  doctor's  verdict  on  the  field-post 
envelopes  with  lithographed  sketches  on  the 
front,  is,  that  they  are  but  of  very  mediocre 
interest,  and  should  be  placed  in  the  same 


category  with  the  illustrated  envelopes  of  this 
country  ;  by  which  he  no  doubt  intends  to 
allude  to  the  fantastic  Ocean  Penny  Postage 
vignettes.  In  the  December  number  Dr. 
Magnus  states  that  the  value  on  the  Bavarian 
envelope  has  never  been  written  otherwise 
than  drei/, — therein  confirming  the  general 
belief.  He  also  notices  the  handsome  Bava- 
rian envelope  essays  which  appeared  some 
six  years  ago,  and  were  thought  to  possess 
a  certain  value.  The  doctor's  impression 
respecting  them  is,  that  though  they  probably 
were  submitted  to  the  Bavarian  administra- 
tion, they  were  unquestionably  struck  off  in 
quantities  for  speculative  purposes  after  their 
rejection. 

Our  friend,  Senor  M.  P.  de  Figueroa,  sends 
for  the  December  number  of  Le  Timbre-Poste, 
a  copy  of  a  Spanish  postal  circular  of  the 
13th  August,  1857,  in  which  the  distinctive 
features  of  a  forged  4  cuartos  stamp  then  in 
circulation  in  the  province  of  Almeira,  are 
given  with  a  minuteness  worthy  of  our  own 
writers  on  forgeries ;  and  Senor  de  Figueroa 
states  that  that  circular  is  but  one  among 
many  similar  ones.  What  a  strange  mania 
Spaniards  seem  to  have  for  forging  stamps  ! 
What  invaluable  assistants  some  of  the  more 
skilful  would  doubtless  prove  to  the  enter- 
prising Messrs.  Spiro  !  and  what  price  might 
they  not  obtain  for  their  services  from  some 
of  the  Glasgow  counterfeit  sellers,  whose 
names  we  recently  gave  !  It  is,  in  sober 
truth,  surprising  that  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment did  not  long  ago  perceive  that  the  best 
way  to  stop  forging  would  be  to  issue  stamps 
so  finely  engraved  as  not  to  be  imitated,  ex- 
cept at  great  cost.  The  present  administra- 
tion, however,  appears  to  have  at  last  appre- 
ciated this  fact. 

The  possessor  of  one  of  the  finest  collec- 
tions in  the  world, — Baron  Arthur  de 
Rothschild, — contributes  to  the  January 
number  of  our  Belgian  contemporary  an 
article,  detailing  a  scheme  submitted  to  our 
government  by  a  Mr.  Samuel  Forrester,  in 
1839,  for  the  issue  of  postage  stamps.  It  is 
a  curious  and  a  cumbrous  scheme,  hardly, 
however,  wrorth  the  trouble  of  disinterring 
from  among  the  piles  of  similar  documents 
which  found  their  way  to  the  treasury  or 
the  post-office  when  postal  reform  was  first 


33 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


agitated.  Three  engravings  of  proposed 
impressed  stamps  illustrate  M.  de  Roths- 
child's article,  and  be  is  the  possessor  of  the 
three  unique  originals. 

The  Philatelist. — In  the  December  number, 
the  most  remarkable  item  is  a  paper  on 
Unused  Confederate  Locals,  in  which  due 
warning  is  given  to  collectors  of  the 
unscrupulous  mode  in  which  American 
dealers — even  those  who  lav  claim  to  respect- 
ability— deal  with  the  supplies  of  unused 
old  locals  which  they  hunt  out  or  reprint. 
They  are,  in  the  first  instance,  represented 
as  almost  unique,  and  sold  at  abnormally 
high  prices,  and  are  then  put  on  the  market 
by  hundreds.  Certainly,  Brother  Jonathan 
is  very  sharp,  but  his  fine  appreciation  of 
the  excellence  .of  thorough  honesty  and 
truthfulness,  like  his  acquaintance  with  the 
English  grammar,  is  in  an  embryonic  state. 
The  January  number  contains  nothing  of 
note,  except  the  always  valuable  Spud  Paper, 
and  an  article  on  Philatelic  Literature,  in 
the  course  of  which  Mr.  Overy  Taylor's 
labour  in  the  fifth  edition  of  Gray's  catalogue 
is  very  warmly  and  generously  acknowledged. 
We  believe  that  edition  will  soon  be  quite 
out  of  print,  and  a  sixth  will  certainly  be 
called  for. 

In  the  last  number  wc  are  glad  to  observe 
that  space  is  accorded  to  an  article  similar 
in  purport  to  the  one  we  are  now  waiting, 
under  the  heading  of  "  The  Philatelic  Press." 
The  author,  who  is  known  for  his  catholic 
proclivities  in  reference  to  stamps,  appears 
to  have  a  leaning  in  favour  of  the  revenue 
labels  of  the  United  States ;  we  venture  to 
hope,  however,  without  disrespect  to  him, 
that  collectors  will  double  clasp  their  albums 
against  the  whole  tribe. 

Mason's  Coin  and  Stamp-Collector  s  Maga- 
zine has  at  length  dropped  out  of  the  ranks 
of  the  philatelic  press,  leaving  unfinished  a 
paper  commenced  in  its  November  number, 
entitled  "  Philately  Considered  as  a  Moral 
Agent."  Henceforth  it  will  treat  exclusively 
of  coins. 

The  American  Journal  of  Philately  com- 
menced its  fifth  volume  in  January.  About 
half  the  January  number  (six  pages)  is 
composed  of  reprints,  and  the  remaining 
contents  are  totally  uninteresting.     Half  of 


the    February    number    is 
reprints;    includiiio-  anions* 


also  filled  with 
them  a  paper, 
On  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  Postage 
Stamps,"  contributed  by  Mr.  Edwin  Hill,  to 
The  Journal  of  Applied  Science,  in  which 
reference  is  made  to  many  facts  with  which 
collectors  are  acquainted,  and  to  some  which 
are  new.  We  shall  extract  the  plums  from 
this  article  as  soon  as  we  can  find  a  place  for 
them.  Of  the  remaining  half  of  the  February 
number,  three  pages  are  occupied  with  a 
list  of  local  stamps  ;  so  that  the  residuum  of 
readable  matter  is  not  enough  to  surfeit  the 
most  easily  satisfied  subscriber.  The  two 
most  striking  features  about  these  two  num- 
bers are  (1)  the  excellence  of  the  coloured 
engravings,  and  (2)  the  absence  of  the  con- 
I  tributions  of  the  "  able  English  philatelic 
writers,"  whose  services  have,  it  is  said, 
been  engaged. 

The  Philatelical  Journal. — If  this  journal 
comes  last  in  order  of  notice,  it  is  certainly 
not  because  it  is  the  least  important,  but 
because  it  is  the  last  to  reach  us,  the 
publication  having  been  retarded  by  the  non- 
arrival  of  certain  engravings.  The  second 
number,  taken  altogether,  is  an  improvement 
on  the  first,  and  is  exceedingly  readable. 
We  cannot  give  it  all  the  attention  it 
deserves,  but  will  pass  rapidly  over  its  more 
prominent  features. 

The  article  that  interests  us  the  most, 
is  that  of  which  the  Rev.  R.  B.  Earee  is  the 
author,  entitled  "  British  Packet  Agencies." 
Though  not  written  primarily  for  the  purpose 
of  affording  an  answer  to  our  inquiry  as  to 
the  part  played  by  the  British  consul  in  the 
Fijian  postal  arrangements,  it  yet  gives  us 
the  information  we  sought,  namely,  that  our 
consul  is  also  the  packet  agent  for  our 
post-office.  The  article  displays  such  a 
thorough  acquaintance  with  the  subject  of 
which  it  treats,  and  is  so  well  written,  that, 
in  de6ance  of  the  old  warning  with  respect 
to  him  "  who  takes  what  isn't  his'n,"  we 
meditate  transferring  it  bodily  to  the  pages 
of  our  next  number.  Mr.  Atlee's  monograph 
on  the  Hawaiian  stamps  promises  to  prove 
of  considerable  value  to  collectors  ;  the 
initial  paper  is  well  worth  studying.  The 
same  writer,  in  "Oar  Black  Lisf,"  quote 
an  amusing  letter  from  one  of  the  expose 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


39 


forgery  sellers,  who  (using  the  commercial 
"we")  says,  "As  to  there  being  any  forged 
stamps  on  our  sheets  {though  icishing  rather 
to  be  called  rogue*  than  fools),  we  must  assert 
Our  ignorance  of  their  presence."  He  further 
says  in  a  postscript — generally  the  most 
important  part  of  a  letter — "  We  shall  be 
most  happy  to  give  up  the  sale  of  forged 
stamps  in  packets,  or  in  any  other  way,  and 
also  in  urging  others  to  do  likewise."  The 
zeal  of  this  new  convert  is  very  remarkable ; 
and  the  spectacle  of  a  penitent  seller  of 
forgeries  going  about  among  his  still 
dishonest  brethren,  and  exhorting  them  to 
turn  from  the  evil  of  their  ways,  would  be 
decidedly  edifying. 

On  the  "  Cream  of  the  Magazines "  we 
refrain  from  commenting,  simply  because  it 
either  treats  (and  treats  in  very  courteous 
terms)  of  the  contents  of  our  journal,  or  it 
discusses  those  of  other  journals ;  to  which 
journals  We  also  refer  in  another  part  of  the 
present  number. 

Of  the  remaining  contents,  the  "  Notes  on 
the  first  issue  of  Moldavia  "  are  contributed 
by  a  philatelist  of  standing,  who,  under  the 
nom  de  plume  of  "A  Parisian  Collector,"  has 
made  valuable  additions  to  the  general  stock 
of  knowledge  on  every  subject  on  which  he 
has  treated.  This  paper  has  reference  to  the 
documentary  evidence  published  by  Mr. 
Overy  Taylor  in  our  last  number,  with  whose 
conclusions  he  agrees. 

In  the  article  on  "Novelties,"  the  editor 
notices  a  perforated  1  c.  Confederate,  which 
he  gives  as  being  undoubtedly  genuine,  and 
he  also  refers  to  the  existence  of  a  few 
"  genuine  used  perforated  copies  of  the  10  c. 
blue  (Jeff.  Davis)."  We  confess,  however, 
that  we  have  grave  doubts  respecting  their 
authenticity.  A  perforating  machine,  had 
there  been  one  at  Richmond,  would  have 
been  used  on  a  large  number  of  stamps,  and 
its  presence  at  Richmond  would  have  long- 
since  been  witnessed  to  by  Mr.  St.  George 
Oflfutt  and  others.  We  should  require 
something  more  than  the  mere  assertion, 
even  of  so  high  an  authority  as  Mr.  Pember- 
ton,  to  induce  us  to  accept  perforated 
Confederate  stamps,  seven  years  after  the 
fall  of  the  Confederacy.  Nothing  short  of 
the  direst  testimony  of  responsible  officials. 


would  suffice  to  habilitate  such  stamps  with 
a  genuine  character.  * 

Under  the  heading  "  Bogus  Novelties," 
our  contemporary  refers,  inter  alia,  to  the  re- 
production of  the  Transvaal  stamps  in  fancy 
colours,  though  from  the  real  stones.  These 
valueless  impressions  are  obliterated  with  a 
blue  or  black  mark,  composed  of  concentric 
rings,  in  imitation  of  the  real  postmark. 
The  colours  are  : — ■ 

One  penny,     blue,  imperf. 

Threepence,     blue,  rose,  yellow,       „ 


One  shi 


blue  on  bluish, 


and  besides  these  impossible  colours,  the  full 
current  series  is  to  be  had  with  like  can- 
cellation. The  original  lithographic  stones 
have  remained  in  Germany,  where  the  first 
supply  of  the  real  stamps  was  struck  off,  and 
have,  either  with  or  without  official  sanction, 
thus  been  used  for  fraudulent  purposes. 
The  person  by  whom  the  spurious  im- 
pressions are  offered  is  named  E.  Enterleiu, 
and  he  hails  from  Mecklenburg. 

Reviews,  Forged  Stamps,  Correspondence, 
and  Answers  to  Correspondents,  conclude 
the  February  number. 

NEWLY-ISSUED    OR   INEDITED 
STAMPS. 

We  think  we  cannot  do  better  than  com- 
mence our  usual  chronicle  this  month  by 
reproducing  the  following  important  piece 
of  telegraphic  intelligence,  culled  from  the 
Standard  of  the  22nd  ult. 

Berlin,  Feb.  21,  2.35  p.m. 
Prince  Bismarck  is  about  to  convoke  at  Berlin  an 
International  Postal  Congress,  with  the  view  of  establish- 
ing a  general  system  of  postal  arrangements,  which  will 
apply  to  Europe,  Asiatic  Turkey,  and  Bussia,  Egypt, 
Algiers,  Madeira,  the  United  States,  and  Canada.  For  a 
single  letter  it  is  proposed  that  the  postage  shall  be  20 
centimes. 

All  the  details  of  the  project,  which  have 
been,  if  not  initiated,  supported  by  the  German 
chancellor,  are  given  on  p.  135  of  our  last 
volume,  to  which  we  refer  our  reader.  The 
hard-headed,  practical  German  statesman 
will  probably  secure  the  acceptance  of  the 
scheme,  much,  we  feel  sure,  to  the  benefit  of 
every  country  concerned  ;  and  if  we  give 
prominence  to  the  meeting  of  the  Postal 
Congress,  it  is  because  the  adoption  of  Prince 


40 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


From. 


To. 


One  word  only  should  be  written  in  each  space,  from  left  to  right  across  the  card. 


If  the  sender  wishes  other  than  the  usual  means  to  be  employed  in) 
the  delivery  of  the  Message  the  means  must  be  described  here.  J  By 


Bismarck's  suggestion  is  almost  certain  to 
lead  to  the  emission  by  every  European 
state  of  a  special  international  postage 
stamp.  The  proposal  to  establish  an  inter- 
national rate,  coupled  with  other  recent 
innovations,  some  of  which  will  be  found 
noticed  lower  down,  conclusively  prove  that 
postal  progress  is  yet  far  from  its  zenith. 

Great  Britain. — We  have  never  been 
much  in  favour  of  collecting  telegraph 
stamps,  considering  as  we  do  that  most 
philatelists  have  enough  to  do  to  get  up  a 
collection  of  orthodox  postals,  yet  we  cannot 
deny  that  a  certain  amount  of  interest  is 
being  shown  in  them,  and  our  Brighton 
contemporary  urges  their  collection  on  the 
ground  that  telegrams  are  express  letters 
conveyed  by  the  state  post-office.  This  is  a 
view  which  has  something  to  commend  it, 
and  we  invite  the  opinions  of  our  readers  on 
the  question,  whether  telegraph  labels  should 
be  collected  or  not ;  in  the  affirmative  case, 
we  shall  feel  bound  to  notice  them  regularly. 
In  this  present  number,  however,  we  deem 
it  best  to  confine  our  attention  to  the  English 
telegraph  card  just  issued,  and  represented 


I  above,  which  has  perhaps  a  special  claim  to 
notice  from  the  fact  that  it  bears  the  im- 
pressed shilling  stamp  employed  for  our 
envelopes.  It  is  struck  in  green,  and  the 
design  comes  out  unusually  well,  as  the  card 
is  a  thick  one.  This  card  has  both  a  postal 
and  a  telegraphic  character.  It  is  intended 
for  persons  who  cannot,  or  do  not  desire  to, 
send  their  messages  direct  to  the  telegraph- 
office,  and  who  are  content  to  throw  it  into 
a  pillar  or  wall-box,  or  ordinary  letter-box, 
whence  it  is  carried  free  of  charge  to  the 
telegraph- office  at  the  next  ensuing  clear- 
ance. 

We  do  not  anticipate  that  these  cards  will 
be  much  used,  except  in  very  out-of-the-way 
districts,  as  most  people  who  wish  to  make 
use  of  the  wires  at  all  will  not  be  satisfied  to 
defer  the  forwarding  of  their  telegrams 
several  hours  by  throwing  them  into  a  letter- 
box. Should,  however,  the  plan  work,  still 
the  shilling  card  is  not  likely  to  have  a 
lengthened  currency,  as  the  post-office  has 
avowed  its  intention  of  reducing  the  tele- 
gram rate  to  sixpence  as  soon  as  the  neces- 
sary arrangements  can  be  made. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


41 


-cS>^>0<!><s><s><5><j>^><5><j><j>0<j>-^>0<S><3><4><S> 


^-•••-^ 


&m 


Imfrenta  Albion. — 2483-11-71. 


Chili. — Oar  Chilian  correspondent  kindly 

sends  ns,  by  the  last  mail  from  Valparaiso, 

information  of  two  newly-issued  post  cards 

for  this  republic.     He  says  : — 

I  have  the  pleasure  to  enclose  specimens  of  our  new 
post  cards,  which  appeared  in  December  last.  They  are 
of  two  values — 2  and  5  centavos.  The  first  is  used  for 
messages  by  land  routes,  and  the  other  when  sent  by 
steamer.  This  issue  is  only  provisional,  as  it  has  been 
found  too  expensive  to  have  the  cards  manufactured  here. 
The  new  ones  are  to  be  made  in  the  United  States  (pro- 
bably by  the  American  Bank  Note  Company)  after  the 
model  of  the  English  post  card.  It  is  not  stated  what 
colour  the  card  is  to  be,  but  the  values  will  be  2  c.  black 
and  5  c.  red. 

The  above  illustration  faithfully  represents 
the  design  of  these  new  arrivals,  which  are 
type  printed  in  black  ink  on  white  cards, 
having,  respectively,  the  current  2  c.  black 
and  5  c.  red  adhesives  stuck  in  the  right 
hand  upper  corner. 

Ceylon. — The  new  series,  of  which  we  had 
the  good  fortune  to  be  the  first  to  receive 
tidings,  has  now  made  its  appearance.  The 
stamps  are  real  acquisitions,  being  well  de- 
signed and  executed  in  De  La  Rue  &  Co.'s 
finest  style.  They  are  surface  printed,  and 
all  bear  the  usual  diademed  fancy  portrait  of 


the  Queen,  turned  to  left,  in  variously  shaped 
and  patterned  frames.     From  amongst  them 


have  selected  th 

e  36  and  96  cents  for  en- 

ving. 

The  colours  are  very  delicate,  and 

as  follows  : — ■ 

2 

cents, 

light  brown. 

4 

8 

16 

)5 
J5 

grey. 

orange-yellow. 

lilac. 

24 
36 

5) 
5) 

green, 
light  blue. 

48 

carmine. 

96 

■>•> 

greyish  brown. 

The  two  lowest  values  remind  one  closely 
of  the  Straits  Settlements  stamps,  both  in 
colour  and  type.  In  the  two  cents  the  por- 
trait is  in  a  circle,  and  the  inscriptions  and 


42 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


value  are  in  the  upper  and  lower  margins  ; 
in  the  four  cents  the  words  CEYLON  postage 
are  inscribed  on  the  frame  of  the  circle  ; 
the  eight  cents,  the  least  graceful  of  the 
series,  has  the  portrait  in  an  upright  oval, 
and  the  inscription  in  top  and  bottom  mar- 
gins, the  sides  being  filled  in  with  an  etrus- 
can  border  ;  the  16  cents  resembles  the  SG  c. 
above  figured,  but  has  the  value  in  a  curved 
label  below  the  circle,  similar  to  the  inscribed 
one  above  it ;  the  24  c.  is  identical  in  design 
with  the  96  cents,  of  which  we  give  an  en- 
graving, the  spandrel  ornaments  alone  differ- 
ing ;  the  48  c.  has  the  word  ceylon  above 
and  postage  below  the  circle  on  plain  arched 
labels :  the  colour  of  this  stamp  is  very  fine. 
All  the  values  bear  the  crown  and  cc.  water- 
mark. Our  correspondent  states  that  up  to 
the  present  time  no  new  envelope  stamps 
have  been  issued,  but  in  case  any  do  appear 
he  will  lose  no  time  in  sending  us  specimens. 
Spanish  Colonies. — These  colonies  were, 
if  we  remember  aright,  supplied  with  the 
current  "  decapitated-head  "  type  before  the 
mother-country  had  the  privilege  of  employ- 
ing it.  Inlikemannertheadopteddesign,  con- 
taining the  portrait  of  Amadeus,  has  already 
been   utilised    for    Cuba,    whilst   nothing  is 


known  of  the  date  when  it  will  be  issued  in 
Spain.  The  mother  gives  to  her  children 
before  she  thinks  of  herself.  We  have  not 
yet  received  information  of  the  values  of  the 
new  type,  but  probably  they  will  be  the 
same  as  those  of  the  current  one.  The 
above  engraving  is  from  a  die  proof.  Side 
by  side  with  it  we  reproduce  the  illustration 
we  published  in  our  September  number  of 
the  adopted  type  in  its  "  essay  "  state,  that 
our  readers  may  see  how  far  it  has  been 
altered.  In  the  portrait  the  hair  over  the 
ear  has  been  literally  cut  away,  so  that  the 
ear  itself  is  quite  uncovered.  Small  circular 
disks  have  been  inserted  in  the  angles,  and 


_n_n_'L-TL_-w\.ru-L.'^_r. 


the  inscription  above  the  portrait  is  cut  off 
from  the  border.  The  lettering  is  very  poor, 
if  the  engraving  may  be  trusted,  and  one 
might  think  from  the  great  difference  be- 
tween the  boldness  of  the  portrait  and  the 
meanness  of  the  border,  that  the  frame  and 
portrait  are  by  different  artists;  just  as  in 
landscapes,  one  artist  sometimes  paints  the 
scenery  and  another  the  men  or  animals. 

Egypt. — The  annexed  illustration  repre- 
sents the  new  Egyptian  type,  respecting 
which  we  gave  some 
details  last  month. 
The  design  is  poor, 
and  the  execution 
beneath  criticism.  The 
change  in  the  ruler's 
title  from  Viceroy  to 
Khedive  would  seem 
to  have  been  the  chief  motive  for  the  issue  of 
the  new  series,  coupled,  perhaps,  with  the 
decision  to  issue  a  new  value — the  2|  pias- 
tres. The  postal  decree  in  reference  to  the 
emission  is  given  below  :  * 

Instead  of  the  crescent  and  star  being 
impressed  on  the  back  as  on  the  old  issue, 
these  emblems  are  watermarked  in  the 
new  comers.  The  paper  is  rough  and  un- 
stirfaced,  and  the  inks  employed  are  so  thick 
that  the  entire  design  is  more  or  less  blurred, 
and  the  first  copies  now  before  us  might  be 


*POSTAL  AUUiNISTRATrOX  OF  THE  EGYPTIAN  KHEDIVATE. 
HEAD   OFFICE. 

NOTICE. 

ISSUE    OF   NEW    STAMPS. 

His  Highness  the  Khedive  has  been  pleased  to  approve 
of  the  emission  of  new  postage  stamps  of  seven  different 
values,  viz.  5,  10,  and  20  paras,  and  1,  2,  2k,  and  5 
piastres. 

These  stamps  will  be  put  into  circulation  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1872,  and  during  that  month  the  promiscuous 
use  of  the  present  and  the  new  type  for  the  prepayment  of 
letters  and  printed  matter  will  be  permitted. 

On  the  1st  of  February,  1872,  the  former  will  cease  to 
be  legally  current,  and  letters  bearing  the  old  stamps  will 
be  considered  as  unpaid,  and  treated  strictly  according  to 
the  tariff.  The  public  will,  however,  be  allowed  to  ex- 
change the  old  stamps  against  new  ones  of  equal  value,  at 
the  post-offices,  until  the  31st  March,  1872,  after  which 
they  will  not  be  accepted  under  any  pretence. 

A  copy  of  this  advice,  together  with  specimens  of  the 
new  postage  stamps,  will  be  affixed  during  the  whole  of 
the  above  period  at  ever)'  post-office. 

The  Director-General, 

MUZZI  BEY. 

Alexandria,  19  Dec,  1871. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


43 


5 

paras, 

10 

5? 

20 

•>■> 

1 

piastre, 

2 

f> 

n 

■>■> 

supposed  to  Lave  been  obtained  from  worn- 
out  stones.  Our  list  of  colours  requires 
some  slight  revision,  and,  as  many  varieties  of 
this  carelessly  printed  set  are  likely  to  occur, 
we  are  anxious  to  put  clearly  on  record  the 
exact  tints  of  the  first  arrivals. 

red-brown, 
brig] it  mauve. 
Prussian  blue, 
rosy  red. 

deep  chrome-yellow, 
purple. 
5       ,,  emerald  green. 

The  inscription — in  one  sense  the  most  im- 
portant point — is  most  scampishly  done,  to  use 
a  common  phrase,  the  letters  being  crowded 
one  over  another,  and  the  letter  t  in  the  word 
poste  is  represented  by  an  inverted  L.  A 
short  life,  if  not  a  merry  one,  may  be  pre- 
dicted for  the  new  series. 

United  States. — The  annexed  engraving 
represents  the  very  handsome  seven  cents 
envelope — head  of  Stan- 
ton— but  recently  issued, 
and  already  scarce  ;  the 
stock  having,  it  is  assert- 
ed, been  withdrawn  from 
circulation,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  reduction  in 
the  postal  rate  between 
the  States  and  Germany 
to  six  cents.  The  colour 
is  a  bright  vermilion,  on  pale  lemon,  and  on 
white  paper. 

It  seems  that  the  system  of  halfpenny 
postal  cards  is  likely  to  be  adopted  in  the 
United  States  with  some  improvements  on 
our  own  arrangements.  The  revival  of  the 
plan  for  adopting  the  British  system  of  one 
cent  postal  cards  has  (says  the  New  York 
Tribune)  already  produced  a  number  of 
inventions  which  aim  to  combine  the  small 
size  of  the  card  in  use  in  England  with  a 
means  of  concealing  the  writing,  and  thus 
obviating  the  objection  urged  against  the 
system  on  the  ground  of  the  publicity  given 
to  correspondence.  One  of  these  inventions 
is  to  make  the  card  broader  than  the  English 
card,  with  a  crease  across  the  middle  and  a 
little  gum-arabic  on  the  edge,  so  that  the 
card  can  be  doubled  and  sealed,  the  address 
being  on  the  outside,  and  the  communication 


within.  Another  invention  attaches  a  piece 
of  brown  paper,  a  little  longer  than  the  card, 
to  its  lower  end  in  such  a  way  that  it  can  be 
fohled  over  the  face  of  the  card  so  as  to  con- 
ceal the  writing,  and  be  sealed  upon  the 
back.  The  address  and  stamp  are  to  b®  on 
the  brown  paper,  and  a  business  notice  can 
be  printed  on  the  reverse  of  the  card. 

The  sensitiveness  of  the  Americans  with 
respect  to  the  exposure  of  their  correspon- 
dence surprises  us,  for  our  impression  has 
always  been  that  they  were  fond  of  publicity. 
The  idea  of  closing  the  card  is  somewhat 
absurd.  The  cards  are  intended  for  com- 
munications of  minor  importance,  which  the 
sender  does  not  care  about  putting  under 
cover.  If  the  Americans  wish  to  forward  a 
correspondence  which  they  desire  to  keep 
secret  at  the  postal-card  rate,  the  simplest 
plan  would  be  to  agitate  for  a  reduction  of 
the  letter  rate,  instead  of  inventing  cum- 
brous contrivances  for  closing  the  card. 

Germany  and  Italy. — -We  group  these  two 
countries  together  for  the  moment ;  for  the 
former  has  issued,  and  the  latter  is  on  the 
point  of  issuing  a  new  kind  of  post  card — a 
double  one,  one  half  for  the  sender's  message, 
the  other  half  for  his  correspondent's  reply. 
We  have  not  seen  the  German  card,  and  are 
describing  it  from  the  Birmingham  journal. 
We  can,  therefore,  only  say  that  the  first 
half  contains  the  inscription,  kuckantwort 
bezahlt  under  correspondenz  karts;  and  the 
second  half,  intended  for  the  reply,  bezahlte 
ruckantwort  ;  and,  further,  that  it  is  printed 
in  black  on  rose.  As  no  mention  is  made 
by  our  contemporary  of  an  impressed  stamp, 
we  understand  that  prepayment  is  to  be 
effected  by  means  of  adhesives  as  before. 
The  Italian  post  cards,  as  it  would  appear 
from  the  Pei°sevcranza,  of  Milan,  whence  we 
draw  our  information,  will  be  stamped.  The 
ordinary  ones  will  be  issued  at  ten  and  the 
"  reply-paid  "  cards  at  fifteen  centesimi. 

The  idea  of  issuing  double  cards  is  both 
ingenious  and  practical.  It  reduces  the 
trouble  of  correspondence  for  both  sender 
and  receiver  to  a  minimum.  The  sender, 
who  has  hitherto  had  to  write  a  letter,  and 
enclose  with  it  a  stamped  and  addressed  en- 
velope, if  he  wished  to  ensure  receipt  of  a 
reply,  can  now  in  one  single  operation,  and 


44 


THE    STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


without  having  any  recourse  to  envelopes, 
effect  his  object  by  employing  a  "  reply-paid  " 
card,  whilst  the  receiver  can  put  his  answer 
beneath  the  question  without  any  super- 
fluous formalities  We  should  be  glad  to  see 
the  idea  taken  up  in  this  country,  although 
we  question  whether  the  double  cards  could 
be  sold  at  less  than  a  penny,  so  that  there 
would  be  no  pecuniary  saving,  but  the  great 
economy  of  time  and  trouble  such  cards 
would  effect  would  render  them  very  popular 
with  business  men,  and  being  sold  at  the 
same  price  as  two  separate  cards,  the  post- 
office  would  be  no  loser. 

We  should  have  been  rather  surprised  to 
see  Italy  in  the  van  in  a  matter  of  postal 
progress,  seeing  that  her  crippled  finances 
sometime  back  rendered  an  increase  in  the 
letter  rates  advisable,  bat  it  is  evident  that  a 
change  has  come  over  the  spirit  of  the  ad- 
ministration, for  in  the  Biforma,  of  Rome,  we 
read  that  the  government  "  has  it  in  contem- 
plation to  reduce  the  rate  of  inland  postage 
from  20  to  10  centimes,  and  to  charge  news- 
papers by  weight." 

Fislaud. — Our  Birmingham  contemporarv 
notices  a  second  type  of  the  new  card,  which 
is  distinguished  from  the  first  one  by  the 
following  peculiarities ;  the  border  is  the 
tenth  of  an  inch  shorter,  the  impression  is 
in  dark  green,  the  lines  on  the  back  are  con- 
tinuous, instead  of  dotted,  and  the  card  is 
surface-tinted  a  dirty  greenish  yellow. 
Our  confrere  looks  on  this  new  type  as  a 
lithograph,  but  we  cannot  convince  ourselves 
that  it  is  not  engraved.  The  impression  is 
not  equal  to  that  of  the  type  we  described, 
but  this  we  think  is  due  to  the  imperfect 
surfacing  and  porousness  of  the  card  itself ; 
and  after  careful  examination  we  have  ar- 
rived at  the  opinion  that  the  inscriptions  on 
both  types  have  been  printed  from  the  self- 
same plates  or  stones,  the  border  alone  being 
different.  The  6  pen.  stamp  is  not  from  the 
same  die  as  the  adhesive  :  Mr.  Pemberton 
proves  this  from  the  fact  that  it  has  eight 
stars  on  the  shield,  instead  of  seven. 

Venezuela. — EscueJas. — Our  doubts  res- 
pecting the  value  of  the  design  of  which  we 
gave  an  illustration  last  month,  have  been  to 
a  considerable  extent  confirmed.  We  can- 
not find  that  any  province,  town,  river,  or 


other  geographical  feature  of  Venezuela 
bears  the  name  of  "  Escuelas."  The  person 
who  sent  us  the  specimen  from  which  we 
described  still  believes  in  it,  and  forwards  in 
proof  of  its  genuine  character  the  letter  from 
his  correspondent  at  Caraccas  wherein  the 
stamp  was  enclosed  ;  but  our  friend's  corres- 
pondent testifies  conclusively  against  it,  for 
he  says  he  "  encloses  a  stamp  issued  by  a  new 
establishment  in  this  capital ; "  *  and  the 
Pkilitelical  Journal  states  that  it  is  in  fact  a 
school  or  college  stamp,  like  those  issued 
by  some  of  the  North  American  mercantile 
academies,  and  this  is  probably  the  truth. 
We  have,  consequently,  to  warn  our  readers 
against  purchasing  copies. 

Xoewat. — We  were  able  last  month  to 
give  a  brief  notice  of  a  newly-issued  3  sk. 
stamp  for  this  country,  which 
we  now  supplement  by  an 
illustration  of  the  design. 
If  not  actually  the  work  of 
the  engraver  of  the  new 
Danish  stamps,  it  is  very 
evidently  copied  from  them. 
We  regret  the  change  from 
the  grotesque  lion  rampant 
to  the  prosaic  numeral,  whilst  we  are  bound 
to  admit  that  the  new  device  has  the  merit 
of  clearness.  It  is  very  probably  the  fore- 
runner of  a  new  series,  to  be  issued  as  the 
stock  of  the  old  becomes  exhausted.  There 
is  some  talk  of  an  issue  of  stamped  envelopes. 
Austria. — The  PkUatt  .(/notices 

a  new  post  card  for  the  "  Italian  "  provinces 
of  the  Austrian  empire,  though  where  they 
are  situate  we  confess  we  do  not  know, 
and  our  contemporary  must,  we  think,  ac- 
knowledge to  a  slip  of  the  pen.  The  inscrip- 
tions are,  it  is  true,  repeated  in  Italian,  and 
the  facial  value  we  presume  to  be  expressed 
on  the  stamp  in  soldi,  in  which  case  it  would 
appear  that  the  card  is  intended  to  be  used 
between  the  Austrian  branch  offices  in  Tur- 
key, Servia.  <kc.  and  the  empire  :  if  so,  its 
issue  marks  a  by  no  means  unimportant 
extension  of  the  system  of  cheap  communi- 
cation. How  long  shall  we  have  to  wait  for 
three-halfpenny  cards  between  this  country 
and  America,  or  our  American  colonies  ? 


de  las  nueraniente  establecidos  en  esta  capital. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


45 


Turkey.— T.  B.  Morton  8f  Co.— We  draw 
our  readers'  attention  to  an  important  com- 
munication, published  in  another  part  of  this 
number,  from  the  director  of  Morton  &  Co.'s 
postal  department, — an  old  and  respected 
correspondent  of  ours, — who  puts  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  stamps,  and  the  bona-fide  char- 
acter of  the  postal  service,  beyond  a  doubt. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  he  speaks  of  a  forth- 
coming stamp,  and  of  a  new  design,  value 
10  paras,  and  destined  to  prepay  newspaper 
postage. 

Peru. — From  Guayaquil  we  have  received 
a  new  Peruvian  stamp  of  the  value  of  one 
peseta.  It  is  apparently  from  the  same  die 
as  the  una  peseta  brown  of  1862,  but  being 
printed  in  a  bright  orange  colour,  presents 
a  much  more  attractive  appearance.  Our 
obliging  correspondent  informs  us  that  it  is 
the  first  specimen  that  has  reached  him. 

Tasmania. — The  Philatelist  was  the  first  to 
chronicle  a  fresh  value, — ninepence,  deep 
blue,  watermark  tas  placed  obliquely.  It 
will  be  observed  that  it  is  of  the  same  colour 
as  the  threepence,  and  therefore  liable  to  be 
confounded  with  it. 

British  Columbia. — We  have  official  in- 
telligence  from  Victoria,  B.  C,  to  the  effect 
that  the  only  postage  stamps  now  in  use  in 
that  colony  are  the  Canadian.  The  former 
series  has  been  destroyed. 

Hungary. — The  engraved  25  kr.  is  now 
printed  in  dull  lilac,  and  is  exceedingly 
effective  in  appearance. 

THE   T.  B.   MORTON   STAMPS  AND 
THEIR   HISTORY. 

The  "T.  B.  Morton  &  Co."  stamps,  and 
especially  those  forming  the  second  series, 
have  enjoyed  an  unenviable  reputation.  Even 
after  admitting  to  a  qualified  extent  the 
genuineness  of  the  first  issue,  the  second  was 
at  once  condemned  by  its  suspicious  likeness 
to  the  "  Clara  Rothe  "  fabrication.  And  yet 
this  time  the  doubters,  ourselves  amongst 
the  number,  are  not  in  the  right.  The 
unquestionably  genuine  character  of  both 
series  is  proved  by  the  following  letter  from 
Mr.  Panopoulo,  an  old  correspondent  of 
ours,  and  director  of  Messrs.  T.  B.  Morten 
&  Co.'s  postal  department. 


DANUBE    AND    BLACK    SEA    STEAM    CO. 
T.    B.    MORTON    AND    CO. 

Constantinople, 

December  27,  1871. 

To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — In  compliance  with  your  re- 
quest, I  beg  to  give  you  the  necessary 
particulars,  in  order  to  efface  all  doubt 
regarding  the  authenticity  of  T.  B.  Morton 
&  Co.'s  postage  stamps. 

Messrs.  T.  B.  Morton  &  Co.  are  a  shipping 
company,  established  in  this  city  since  the 
year  1855,  plying  their  steamers  between 
Constantinople  and  the  Black  Sea,  and  up 
the  river  Danube  ;  and  have  always  carried 
a  private  mail.  The  franking  of  the  letters 
for  the  first  thirteen  years  was  made  either  by 
writing,  or  by  stamping  with  a  handstamp, 
the  word  franco  for  all  letters  paid.  This 
provisional  method  came  to  an  end  in  1869, 
when,  owing  to  the  increase  of  the  company's 
steamers,  an  improvement  in  the  postal  ser- 
vice became  necessary. 

1st  Emission,  June,  1869. — Round  hand- 
stamp  without  steamer  (but  a  month   later 

with  steamer),  as 


§*r 


4Zk 


FRANCO 


»6 


m 


'4\ 


■> 


frulS 


per  enclosed  spe- 
cimens ;  red  and 
blue  impressions 
on  coloured  pa- 
per, the  former 
representing  the 
uniform  postage 
— 1  piastre — for 
letters  of  any 
weight;  the  latter 
— \  piastre — for 
newspapers  of  any  weight.  The  paper  of 
four  different  colours,  signifying  the  different 
destinations,  viz.,  lohite  for  Bourgas,  Varna, 
and  Kustendjee ;  yellow  for  Sulina;  red  for 
Tulcha  and  Galatz;  and  blue  for  Ibrail,  the 
terminus  port  of  the  line  in  the  Danube. 

In  October,  1870,  at  the  time  of  the  with- 
drawal of  the  French  Messageries  from  the 
Black  Sea,  owing  to  the  Franco-Prussian 
war,  the  Trebizond  line  (Asiatic  side) 
remaining  vacant,  at  the  request  of  a  con- 
siderable number  of  interested  merchants, 
this  company  re-established  the  line,  thus 
replacing   the   French  service.     The   postal 


46 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


service  of  this  new  line  being  of  a  certain    j 
importance,  we  had  to  contrive  for  a  new 
series  of  regular  postage  stamps. 

2nd  Emission,  October,  1870. — At  present  j 
in  use,  oblong  rectangle,  perforated,  coloured 
impression;  green  (| 
piastre);  red  (1  pias- 
tre); and  blue  (2  pias- 
tres) ;  on  white  paper  ; 
design,  &c,  as  per 
specimens  enclosed  ; 
two  piastres  being  the 
postage  on  this  line 
for  single  weight  of  about,  say,  half  an 
ounce  ;  one  piastre  for  books  and  periodicals; 
and  \  piastre  for  newspapers. 

A  recent  redaction  of  postage  on  period- 
icals and  newspapers,  brings  forth  a  3rd 
emission,  December,  1871  (in  course-  of 
impression),  to  be  used  on  and  after  1st 
January,  1872.  Oblong  rectangle,  slightly 
longer,  but  not  broader,  than  those  now  in 
use;  perforated.  Impression  in  two  colours, 
viz.,  black  and  red  on  blue  paper,  and  of 
a  different  design  ;  specimens  of  which  I  will 
not  fail  to  send  you,  with  particulars  regard- 
ing same,  in  due  course.  Value,  10  paras, 
=  I  piastre. 

I  remain,  dear  Sir, 
Yours  truly, 

A.  B.    PANOPOULO, 

Director  of  the  Postal  Department  of 
Messrs.  T.  B.  Morton  %  Co. 

We  have  since  received  a  second  letter 
from  Mr.  Panopoulo,  with  proofs  of  the 
projected  10  para 
journal,  the  emission 
of  which  has  been 
delayed  through  the 
printer's  departure 
from  the  instructions 
he  had  received  as  to 
the  distribution  of 
the  colours  in  the  impression.  We  annex  an 
engraving  of  the  type  of  the  three  proofs  we 
have  received  ;  one  is  in  black  on  blue  paper, 
and  entirely  uncoloured  ;  the  others  are  also 
in  black,  the  first  on  white,  the  second  on  blue 
paper,  but  the  whole  of  the  stamp,  except  the 
scroll  and  flags,  is  covered  with  a  brick-red 
ground,  printed  over  the  black  in  a  second 


operation,  and  the  letters  T.  B.  m.  &  CO.  are 
also  in  brick-red.  The  design  is  lithographed, 
and  the  colouring  being  as  roughly  laid  on 
as  in  the  illustrations  which  adorn  children's 
books,  the  initials  are  half  off  and  half  on  the 
flag.  In  the  stamp  as  finally  issued,  Mr. 
Panopoulo  informs  us  the  diagonal  lines 
forming  the  ground,  the  initials,  the  value,  and 
the  anchors  will  be  in  bright  red,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  design  in  black;  the  issue 
will  also  be  gummed  and  perforated.  At 
intervals  just  outside  the  line  of  the  lower 
margin,  are  some  minute  initials,  which  we 
take  to  be  those  of  the  postal  director. 

The  Morton  stamps  were  first  noticed  by 
Monsieur  Moens,  whose  information  respect- 
ing them,  together  with  the  above  engrav- 
ing of  the  circular  type,  was  reproduced  by 
us  on  page  12  L  of  our  seventh  volume.  The 
details  there  given,  so  far  as  they  went,  were 
more  exact  than  we  ourselves  believed  them 
to  be  at  the  time,  but  our  incredulity  was 
very  excusable,  seeing  that  at  that  time  (as 
now)  many  mysterious  emissions  suddenly 
"  took  their  rise  "  on  the  Continent. 

The  circular  type  with  steamer  above  the 
word  franco  has,  we  believe,  never  before 
been  chronicled.  We  have  ourselves  had 
specimens  by  us  for  more  than  a  twelve- 
month, but  have  always  deferred  our  in- 
tended examination  of  them  ;  and  this  we  do 
not  now  regret.  The  steamer  is  wedged  in 
between  the  word  franco  and  the  name 
which  forms  the  inner  arch  above,  and  seems 
to  have  been  modelled  after  the  style  of  the 
wood-cuts  which  frequently  adorn  the  ship- 
ping advertisements  in  commercial  papers. 
There  is  no  difference  between  the  first  and 
the  second  issue  in  the  arrangement  or  size 
of  the  inscriptions.  Both  the  circular  types 
are  printed  on  very  thin  paper,  and  closely 
resemble  in  their  general  appearance  and 
mode  of  impression  the  journal  stamps  of 
the  old  local  post  of  Constantinople  ;  the 
similarity  is  even  noticeable  in  the  division 
of  the  stamps  from  each  other  by  ruled  lines, 
forming  rectangles.  The  obliterating  mark 
is   a   laro-e  transverse  oval  band,  inscribed 

T.     B.     MORTON      &     CO.,     CONSTANTINOPLE,     and 

struck  in  blue  or  red  across  the  stamp. 

The  lithographed  oblongs,  which  in  reality 
form    the    third    complete    series,     are   not 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


47 


devoid  of  merit,  though  their  looks  are  in 
some  respects  more  against  than  for  them. 
Each  value  has  been  separately'  drawn  on 
the  stone,  and  consequently  in  each  the 
design  differs  slightly  in  detail. 

The  specimens,  we  possess  of  the  first  two 
issues,  are  as  follows  : — • 
First  issue,  circular. 

Red,     on  yellow  paper. 
„  „    white       „ 

„.   blue 
„   rose 
Green  ,,    blue  ,, 

,,       ,,    rose  ,, 

„  ,      „    yellow     „ 
Second  issue^   circular,   steamship    above 
"  Franco." 

Red,  on  yellow  paper. 

„    white       „ 

„  „    rose  ,, 

,»  „    blue         „ 

Blue  „    rose         „ 

„    blue 

„    white       „ 

Green  ,,    white       ,, 

„    yellow     ,, 

The  green  impressions  were  probably  blue 
originally.  We  understand  from  the  above 
letter  that  the  circular  stamps  are  still  in 
use,  the  oblongs  having  been  issued  solely 
for  the  Trebizond  service  ;  if  we  are  wrong, 
Mr.  Panopoulo  will  correct  us. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

ENGLISH    OFFICIAL    STAMPS    AND    INVERTED 
WATERMARKS. 

To  the  Editor  of  "  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dkau  Sir, — I  am  glad  Mr.  Atleehas  broached  the  sub- 
ject of  English  official  stamps.  I  have  for  some  time 
collected  them,  and  as  they  frank  letters  on  which  they 
are  impressed,  as  much  as  any  adhesives,  I  can  see  no 
reason  why  they  should  not  be  collected.  To  Mr.  Atlee's 
list  I  now  add  the  following  :  — 

London  Post-oitices  : 

1. — Large  circle,  in  centre  paid  in  two  lines;  above, 
londo^,  w.c  ,  and  a  letter;  below,  date. 

2. —  Very  similar  to  1  ;  charing-cross,  w.c,  sub- 
stituted for  lo'ndon,  w.c,  in  1. 

3.— Same  as  "/"'  in  Mr.  Atlee's  first  list  (Dec.  1871, 
p.  178),  but  without  three  lines  in  centre. 

To  the  lists  of  stamps  with  inverted  watermarks,  given 
at  pages  103  and  119  of  the  1871  volume  of  The  Stamp- 
Collector's  Magazine,  I  can  add  the  following:  — 


England,  4d.  red,  present  issue,  inv.  garter. 
England,  2d.  blue,  present  issue,  inv.  crown. 
Hong  Kong,  &c,  chrome-yellow,  inv.  crown  and  cc 
I  have  several  specimens  of  the  Id.  English,  with  in- 
verted crown,  in  my  possession. 

I  am,  Sir, 

Tours  verv  truly, 
Hamsterley.  HANOVERIAN. 

[The  three  franks  mentioned  by  our  correspondent  are  not  official  in 
Mr.  Atlee's  acceptation  of  the  term,  but  are  merely  the  marks  impressed 
upon  letters  prepaid  in  coin  over  the  counter.— Ed.] 


BOLIVIAN  ESSAYS. 
To  the  Editor  o/"The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — The  strip  of  Bolivian  stamps  described  in 
your  November  number,  I  believe,  must  be  shams.  New 
essays  they  cannot  be,  as  the  value  is  expressed  in  the 
old  coinage,  which  ceased  to  be  current  about  four  years 
ago,  and  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  intention  of  sub- 
stituting it  for  the  decimal  currency. 

Their  similarity  to  the  stamp  figured  in  No.  3  of  The 
Philatelist  is  somewhat  suspicious,  and  again  the 
omission  of  the  flags,  cannons,  &c.,  in  the  Bolivian  arms 
(which,  from  your  description,  I  fancy  figure  on  these 
labels)  is  another  argument  against  their  being  genuine 
essays  at  all. 

I  remain,  dear  Sir, 

Yours  obedientlv, 

Valparaiso.  F*.  W.  M. 

[We  are  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of  returning  to  these  stamps. 
M.  Moens,  in  a  supercilious  tone  which  does  not  add  to  the  value  of  his 
remarks,  criticises  our  reference  to  them  in  our  November  number,  and 
is  astonished  that  we  should  venture  to  argue  the  possibility  of'  a  new 
series,  because  one  of  our  correspondents  has  received  proofs  of  the  tj-pe. 
When  one  of  M.  Moens'  correspond*  nts  receives  proofs  of  a  type,  the  case 
is  different  ;  then  there  can  lie  no  doubt  that  they  indicate  a  new  issue. 
For  our  part,  with  the  example  of  Peru,  in  consequence  of  a  change  in 
government,  reverting  to  the  old  device  in  relief,  it  did  seem  to  us 
possible  that,  under  a  new  order  of  things  in  Bolh  ia,  the  finely-nngraved 
design  of  the  American  Bank  Note  Co.  might  be  replaced  by  the  primi- 
tive type  to  which  we  alluded  in  our  November  number.  This  type,  as  it 
now  appears,  was  the  original  of  the  engraving  we  published  in  1867,  but 
in  our  wood-cut  (which  in  fact  was  the  same  as  that  which  appeared  in 
Le  Timbre-Poxte).  the  sun  is  represented  by  a  Phrygian  bonnet,  and  the 
llama  is  nowhere,  therefore  the  design  described  in  November  by  our 
contributor,  seemed  to  be  similar  to,  but  not  identical  with,  that  of  1867, 
and  we  took  it  to  be  a  new  one.  M.  Moens  now  vouchsafes  to  inform  us 
(and  we  presume  he  has  obtained  the  information  since  the  wood-cut 
made  its  appearance),  that  the  eleven  essays,  all  differing  in  detail  from 
each  other,  were  submitted  to  the  Bolixian  government  in  18f0,  but 
refused  because  they  were  badly  executed,  and  because  the  government 
had  then  no  intention  of  issuing  stamps.  Hence  they  wou'd  appear  to 
have  been  spontaneously  designed  by  the  person  who  offered  them  to  the 
government,  and  all  the  value  they  possess  is  derived  from  the  fact  that 
they  were  really  examined  and  rejected  by  it.— Ed.] 


ENGLISH  OFFICIAL  STAMPS.— IRISH  ODDITIES. 

To  the  Eaiior  p/1'The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Sir, — In    Mr.    Dudley  Atlee's    last  essay  on   official 
stamps,  the  following  Dublin  offices  were  omitted. 

Government  Prisons,  . .  Wm.  Lamb. 

Census  of  Ireland, 
Chief  Secretary's  Office, 
Registrar  of  Petty  Session 


[ACKAY. 


,.   Henry  Wilkie. 
. .  R.  "W.  Matheson. 

iVri;  )    J-  Mi 

Fines  and  Penalties  Office,        J.  Mackay. 

Besides  these,  I  discovered  an  official  envelope  impressed 
with  a  handstamp,  consisting  of  a  circle,  surmounted  by 
a  crown,  enclosing  the  word  paid,  and  date  (1856)  ;  the 
stamp  is  struck  in  blue,  and  the  envelope  was  one  belong- 
ing to  the  office  of  Receiver  of  Constabulary.  It  bears 
on  it  two  signatures ;  viz.,  A.  B.  Cane,  and  L".  B.  Briscoe. 


48 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


In  addition  to  these,  in  hunting  over  some  old  papers, 
amongst  several  members'  franks  I  found  some  very- 
antique  covers,  handstamped  with  the  words  ranelagh 

PENNY  POST,    BRAT  PENNY  POST,    BOLTON'S  PENNY  POST. 

Eanelagh  is  one  of  the  suburbs  ■  of  Dublin.  Bray  is 
situated  about  twelve  miles  from  that  city ;  the  possessive 
's  added  to  Bolton  would  suggest  the  idea  of  an  individual, 
not  a  town.  Should  I  esteem  these  worthy  of  a  place  in 
my  album  ? 

In  a  young  friend's  collection,  the  other  day,  I  came 
across  a  Mexican  (Hidalgo)  four  reales  green  on  yellow. 
This  is,  no  doubt,  the  production  of  those  Yorkshire  and 
Glasgow  firms  whose  dealings  you  have  so  justly  and 
openly  exposed.  I  would  advise  all  collectors  who  wish 
to  keep  their  albums  free  from  trash  and  waste  paper,  to 
preserve  all  the  forgeries  they  come  across  in  a  small 
took ;  by  this  means  they  will  be  able  to  compare  any 
suspected  stamps  that  come  into  their  bands,  and  weed 
their  collections  accordingly. 

I  remain, 

Yours  truly, 

Dublin.  M.  H.  CARR. 

[Can  any  of  our  readers  afford  us  information  on  the  "  penny  pests  "  to 
which  our  corresponent  refers?— Ed.] 


ANOTHER  ODD  POSTMARK.  —  THE  HAITIAN 
IMPOSTOR.  —  THE  LOMBARDO  -  VENETIAN 
REPRINTS,   1861. 

To  the  Editor  of  "  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — There  is  clearly  some  relationship  between 
the  "  odd  postmark,"  named  at  page  13  of  your  January 
number,  and  a  handstamp  in  my  possession,  which  I  for- 
warded to  you  for  inspection  in  May,  1870,  but  about 
which  you  were  unable  to  give  me  any  information  (see 
vol.  viii.,  p.  80, — "Answers  to  Correspondents").  My  en- 
velope was  posted  at  Constantinople,  23rd  February,  1870, 
and  is  handstamped  with  a  transverse  oval,  horizontally 
divided  by  a  bar,  above  which  is  FR.,  surmounted  by  a 
small  crown,  and  below,  2  f.  40  c.  ;  beside  it  is  a  large 
pen-and-ink  figure  9,  which  was  the  number  of  pence 
charged  on  delivery.  One  of  the  postmarks  reads,  ' '  Mar- 
seille a  Lyon,  Special,"  which  appears  to  indicate  that  the 
letter  enjoyed,  some  special  privileges  of  transit,  for  which 
the  sender  had,  no  doubt,  paid  an  extra  rate ;  and  as  it 
bears  no  adhesive  stamps,  I  have  always  considered  the 
handstamp  to  indicate  the  amount  of  postage  paid  in 
Constantinople.  It  thus  becomes  almost  a  stamp,  rather 
than  a  postmark,  and  most  decidedly  collectable.  As  you 
appear  to  invite  information  on  the  subject,  I  thought  the 
above  might  interest  you. 

I  was  very  glad  to  see  the  Haitian  imposture  hit  so  hard 
in  your  Jan.  number.  I  have  one  in  my  collection  which 
I  obtained  when  the}7  first  came  over,  but  have  always 
considered  spurious,  and  kept  merely  as  a  curiosity.  One 
little  circumstance,  on  which  my  conviction  was  chiefly 
based,  in  the  face  of  the  conflicting  opinions  expressed 
with  regard  to  this  stamp  (?),  appears  to  have  escaped 
notice.  The  dealer  I  got  it  from  had  a  dozen  or  two  nice 
clean  used  specimens,  not  too  heavily  postmarked,  which 
he  said  were  the  first  importations,  and  assured  me  he 
fully  believed  in  them,  and  their  genuineness  was  quite 
settled.  They  were,  however,  all  innocent  of  gum,  and 
had  been  separated  with  a  pair  of  scissors.  The  origi- 
nator of  these  impostors  is  no  doubt  well  accustomed  to 
handling  stamps.  He  appears  to  be  in  the  practice,  com- 
mon amongst  dealers,  of  separating  unused  specimens 


with  a  pair  of  scissors ;  and  in  preparing  his  first  supply 
of  Haitian  25  c.  to  put  upon  the  market,  the  force  of  habit 
was  too  strong,  and  he  forgot  that  he  was  going  to  cancel 
them,  and  issue  them  as  used  stamps,  and  that  the  public 
never  thinks  of  anything  else  but  tearing  them  apart  by 
means  of  the  perforations  provided  for  the  purpose. 

If,  as  seems  not  improbable  (from  the  fact  that  many- 
specimens  show  parts  of  two  or  more  postmarks) ,  they  were 
delivered  to  the  party  interested^  by  his  engraver,  ready 
postmarked  in  the  sheet,  he  must  have  been  a  still  greater 
"  duffer  "  not  to  have  been  shai-p  enough  to  tear  them 
apart. 

I  consider  your  January  number  quite  settles  the  ques- 
tion, but  the  above  is  additional  evidence,  if  you  think  it 
worth  inserting. 

The  Lombardo- Venetian  Reprints  of  1861. — On  ex- 
amining the  specimens  of  the  reprints  of  the  Lombardo- 
Yenetian  issues  of  1861  (head  to  right),  at  my  command, 
I  find  that  some  of  them  are  perforated  12,  some  10,  and 
others  10  at  sides,  and  9  at  bottom  and  top.  Thus  I 
have  specimens  of 

a.  2,  3,  10,  15  soldi,  perf.,  12  all  round. 

b.  5,  15  soldi,  perf.  10  all  round. 

c.  2,  3  soldi,  perf.  10  at  sides,  9  top  and  bottom. 

\  My  first  idea  was  that  this  great  diversity  of  perforation 
tended  to  favour  the  supposition  that  these  were  the 
stamps  actually  prepared  for  issue,  and  not  destroyed,  as 
has  been  suggested,  but  left  in  an  unfinished  state,  and 
afterwards  perforated  in  batches  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  collectors ;  but  the  fact  that  the  10  and  5  soldi  exist  in 
these  new  varieties,  seemed  to  prove  that  reprinting  had 
been  going  on  ;  and  on  further  comparison  I  find  that  all 
the  specimens  b.  and  c.  are  distinguished  by  poorness  of 
execution,  especially  in  the  embossing  of  the  head,  as 
compared  with  the  a.  set,  and  have  all  brown  gum,  while 
the  a.  set  hitherto  known  has  white.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, beyond  a  doubt  that  either  two  or  three  reprints 
have  taken  place,  instead  of  one,  as  hitherto  supposed. 

A  letter  lately  received  from  Trieste,  via  Grermany 
and  Belgium,  has  the  following  cancellation  disposed  in 
two  lines  across  the  stamps. 

R.    K.    EAHRENDES 
POSTAMT,    N°-  8. 

This  would  appear  to  refer  to  a  "  mail  coach  "  or  horse 
conveyance,  with  a  box  for  the  receipt  of  letters  en  route  ; 
as  I  believe  the  railway  travelling  posts  obliterate  with 
an  "Eisenbahn"  stamp.  The  envelope  bore  no  other 
postmark,  either  English  or  foreign,  except  the  letters  PD. 

Post  Cards. — In  reference  to  the  curious  marks  de- 
scribed from  my  specimens,  in  your  November  number,  a 
gentleman  of  great  experience,  to  whom  I  submitted  them, 
says, 

It  has  long  been  known  that  our  authorities  put  test  marks  on  the 
stamps,  varying  from  time  to  time,  to  guard  against  forgeries ;  probably 
the  dots  in  the  P  may  be  such  ;  but  I  rather  think  they  are  all  traces  of 
where  the  engraver  left  the  knob  of  steel  holding  his  die  to  the  cushion 
till  he  had  finished  his  engraving.  Their  being  in  the  border  helps  this 
view. 

I  conclude  he  would  account  for  the  entire  absence  of 
these  marks  on  the  bulk  of  the  cards,  and  the  appearance 
of  a  smaller  number  on  some  specimens,  by  the  gradual 
wearing  down  of  the  stereotype  impressions  from  the 
original  die,  these  little  "knobs"  being  thus  gradually 
brought  to  the  surface. 

Yours  truly, 

Manchester.  J.  C. 

[With  reference  to  the  odd  postmark,  we  may  remark  that  the  figure  9 
on  ours  is  not  written,  but  handstamped,  apparently  at  the  same  tune  as 
the  rest  of  the  mark.— Ed.] 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


49 


POSTAGE   STAMPS   AT  AUCTION. 

Our  chronicle  of  events  this  month  would 
be  singularly  incomplete,  if  we  omitted  to 
present  to  our  readers  an  account  of  the 
first  sale  by  public  auction  of  stamps  held 
on  this  side  the  Atlantic. 

Most  collectors  are  aware  that  this  method 
of  dispersing  specimens  has  been  tried  on 
several  occasions  in  New  York,  where  it 
seems  to  have  been  inaugurated  by  the  firm 
of  Messrs.  J.  W.  Scott  &  Co. ;  and  when, 
early  in  the  present  year,  they  opened  a 
"  store  "  in  the  English  metropolis,  it 
seemed  almost  a  natural  consequence  they 
should  import  the  American  novelty  into 
this  country,  and  see  if  the  British  (collect- 
ing) public  appreciated  the  specimens  thus 
offered  as  highly  as  report  said  their  trans- 
atlantic cousins  had  done.  We  are  unable 
to  say  whether  the  experiment  has  been  a 
success  or  not,  and  indeed,  so  far  as  it  affects 
private  interests,  we  are  not  concerned  to 
inquire  ;  but  it  is  our  duty  as  faithful  his- 
torians to  make  our  friends  fully  acquainted 
with  this  the  latest  phase  of  the  stamp- 
dealing  business,  and  they  can  draw  their 
own  conclusions,  and  point  the  moral  of  the 
tale  for  themselves. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  well-known 
firm  of  literary  auctioneers,  Messrs.  Sotheby 
&  Co.,  of  Wellington  Street,  Strand,  by  whom 
the  auction  was  conducted,  we  received  a 
copy  of  the  catalogue  some  days  ago  ; 
unluckily,  we  were  not  able  to  attend  the 
view  of  the  lots  preliminary  to  the  sale,  but 
we  studied  the  catalogue,  and  made  the  best 
use  of  our  opportunities  on  the  18th  March, 
when  the  sale  took  place. 

Upwards  of  270  lots  were  offered,  very 
many  consisting  of  single  stamps,  some  of  sets 
or  groups.  The  lots  were  mounted  on  neat 
strips  of  card,  and  handed  round  to  the 
company  for  examination,  much  in  the  style 
that  coins  are  exhibited  at  Messrs.  Sotheby 
&  Co.'s  sales. 

The  catalogue  led  off  with  stamps  of  the 
United  States,  then  came  a  long  array  of 
locals  (close  upon  100  lots  of  these),  miscel- 
laneous stamps  followed,  and  the  stamps  and 
envelopes  of  the  Confederate  States  brought 
up  the  rear. 

VOL.  X.    Xo.  111. 


The  announcement  was  that  the  sale 
comprised  a  selection  from  the  celebrated  col- 
lection of  Mr.  J.  W.  Scott,  and,  after  the 
papers  which  had  appeared  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Philately,  we  looked  with  some 
curiosity  to  the  Local  Americans  and  Con- 
federates as  being  the  quarters  where  we 
should  discover  most  of  interest. 

The  first  noticeable  items  were  lots  12,  a 
Brattleboro'  stamp  ;  15  and  16,  sets  of  the 
three  types  of  5  and  10  cents. St.  Louis  ;  and 
17  and  18,  two  copies  of  the  redoubtable 
20  c.  St.  Louis  themselves. 

Of  the  two  last,  lot  17  was  said  to  be 
"unique;"  lot  18,  "  a  variety,  only  one  other 
in  existence  :  "  the  latter  struck  us  as  the  finer 
copy.  Both  were  knocked  down  to  Mr.  Scott, 
whose  name  was  on  the  catalogue  as  himself 
executing  commissions ;  and  we  heard  it 
stated  in  the  room  that  both  the  20  c.  will 
go  back  to  America  ;  they  realised  about 
£6  10s.  apiece.  The  prices  of  the  5  and  10 
c,  about  20/-  each,  seem  to  indicate  that  these 
are  not  maintaining  the  factitious  prices  put 
on  them  by  American  dealers  of  late  times. 
We  cannot  say  we  regret  that  any  of  these 
stamps  should  recross  the  ocean. 

Lots  34  and  35,  the  well-known  Bloods, 
large  rectangle,  postman  striding  over  houses, 
we  thought  fine  stamps,  though  the  former 
was  an  injured  specimen  ;  the  latter  fetched 
50/-,  also  to  Mr.  Scott's  bid — full  value  for 
the  copy.  Originals  are  rare,  but  we  dissent 
from  the  catalogue  addendum,  "  nearly- 
unique,"  to  them.  We  believe  several  spe- 
cimens are  to  be  found  in  collections  in  this 
country. 

By  the  way,  how  remarkable  it  is  that  those 
who  described  these  stamps,  and  enumerated 
among  the  tests  of  the  genuine  that  on  the 
house,  to  the  left,  the  word  lithograph  is  to 
be  read  printed,  failed  to  notice  that  the 
word  is  incomplete,  wanting  the  initial  L;  and 
also,  still  more  strange,  that  above  it,  in 
equally  plain  lettering,  is  Sinclair,  so  that  it 
reads  Sinclair  ithograph  ;  the  lines  of  the 
shading  run  into  the  end  of  the  lower  word, 
which  probably  was  meant  for  lithographer. 

A  Blood's  paid  despatch,  dove  in  large 
oval  (lot  36),  fetched  20/-  :  this  is  a  scarce 
stamp,  but  the  copy  was  indifferently  good. 

"  Lot  49,  Jefferson  Market  post  office,  pink, 


50 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


unique"  was  the  next  object  attracting  our 
attention ;  it  provoked  sortie  competition, 
and  was  knocked  down  to  Mr.  Pemberton  at 
£5 — an  extravagant  price  in  our  judgment. 
The  stamp  is  a  poor  design,  badly  executed 
in  lithography,  and  we  must  consider  its 
claims  as  extremely  doubtful.  Its  appear- 
ance is  not  in  its  favour,  and  we  are  at 
present  without  any  information  of  a  reliable 
kind  which  would  induce  us  to  put  more 
trust  in  it  than  its  looks  bespeak. 

Several  very  fair  copies  of  well-known 
stamps  followed,  such  as  Messenkope's, 
Floyd's,  Cornwell's,  Kidder's  (somewhat 
rare),  Gordon's,  and  Pomeroy's  ;  speaking 
roughly,  they  averaged  near  upon  10/-  to  15/- 
— sometimes  20/ — apiece.  We  noticed  some 
queer-looking  Indian  heads  (Westervelt's 
post),  in  many  colours,  and  one  or  two  little 
stamps  unknown  to  us,  such  as  Kingman's 
City  Post,  Mercantile  Library  stamps,  and 
others  ;  some  of  these  fetched  20/-  to  25/- 
each. 

Lot  109  brought  a  stamp  stated  to  be 
unique — the  large  Boyd's  City  Express  Post. 
The  design  is  the  eagle  on  globe,  like  the 
well-known  smaller  set,  the  whole  stamp 
being  larger.  This  copy  was  stack  over  a 
Pomeroy  stamp  (female  bust),  and  was  a 
very  desirable  acquisition  ;  it  was  knocked 
down,  after  very  little  competition,  at  155/- ; 
also,  we  heard,  for  America. 

Wyman's  Engine  and  Car  (lot  113), 
"  unique,''''  bought  in  at  45/-  ;  we  do  not 
fancy  it  deserved  to  be  styled  unique. 

The  general  stamps  then  came  on :  a 
rather  fine  used  British  Guiana,  patimus, 
magenta,  brought  28/-  ;  lot  132,  a  2  cent, 
yellow  provisional  (pearl-border  variety,  a 
beautiful  copy),  realised  12/-,  and  was  not 
unreasonably  dear. 

Lucon,  or  rather  Philippines,  5  c.  orange- 
red,  1854  y  '55 — a  good  used  specimen  of 
a  very  rare  stamp,  postmarked  with  a  series 
of  small  square  dots,  fetched  50/-.  Lot  1 40, 
the  next  lot,  the  only  used  copy  of  the  10  c. 
of  the  deep  red  or  carmine  variety,  same 
issue,  we  ever  saw,  brought  28/- ;  and  lot 
142,  deep  blue,  1  real,  postmarked  (circular 
mark),  26/-;  these  were  all  good  lots. 
There  was  also  a  fair  used  specimen  of  the 
•§  tornese  blue  (arms)  Naples,  which  went  at 


40/- ;  and  four  views  of  Sydney — unused 
Id.,  two  of  2d.,  and  one  bad  copy  3d. — brought 
84/-  ;  well  worth  the  money. 

Great  running  was  made  for  lot  159,  the 
13  c.  Sandwich  Islands,  figures  in  fancy 
bordering.  It  eventually  was  secured  for 
£6  10s., — a  very  full  price,  as  it  was  of  the 
commoner  type  known,  not  the  h.i.  and  U.S. 
which  wre  lately  described. 

A  Tuscany  2  soldi  (passable  copy)  fetched 
19/-,  and  several  ordinary  lots  of  stamps 
went  at  low  figures.  At  this,  as  at  all  sales 
we  ever  attended,  some  lots  went  cheap,  while 
others,  for  no  assignable  reason,  fetched 
more  than  far  superior  or  even  unused  copies 
could  have  been  procured  for  of  any  re- 
spectable dealer. 

A  sale-room  is  not  the  place  in  which  to 
buy  the  common  specimens  of  anything  one 
collects.  Collector's  desiderata  are  well 
known,  and  if  not  bid  up  for  by  the  public 
till  they  reach  the  owner's  ideas  of  value, 
are  usually  bought  in,  or  knocked  down  to  a 
friend,  whose  protecting  aid  prevents  a 
sacrifice. 

The  turn  of  the  Confederates  then  came, 
and  the  biddings  got  brisker,  though  some 
lots  fell  very  cheaply.  A  Lynchburg,  se- 
cured for  23/-,  coming  after  a  lot  for  which 
a  run  had  been  made  by  two  or  three  excited 
bidders,  was  a  bargain.  We  noticed  once  or 
twice,  after  a  keenly-contested  lot,  the  next, 
whatever  it  was,  fell  flat.  Mr.  Pemberton 
purchased,  at  100/-,  lot  219,  a  real  gem  in 
its  way,  being  the  5  c.  Nashville,  grey  on 
slate,  which  was  the  first  colour  in  which 
this  stamp  was  chronicled  by  Mount  Brown. 
Of  late  years  its  existence  in  this  colour  has 
been  doubted,  all  we  have  ever  seen  being 
falsities ;  and  our  verdict  dethroned  the 
grey  or  slate  in  favour  of  the  pink  or  car- 
mine. We,  therefore,  closely  examined  the 
copy  in  this  sale,  and  found  it  to  be  from  the 
genuine  die.  It  looked  to  us  like  a  proof; 
we  could  not  discover  if  it  had  ever  been 
gummed  at  the  back  or  not,  but  it  was  un- 
used and  in  beautiful  condition,  and  was  one  of 
the  best  things  sold.  Several  fine  used  pink 
copies  of  the  same  stamp  followed,  and 
fetched  40/-  and  upwards  each.  This  we 
were  glad  to  see,  as  these  were  undoubtedly 
genuine;  but  the  3  cent  Nashville  (lot  218), 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


51 


pink  on  white  (the  abundant  recent  supplies 
of  which  seem  to  us  to  indicate  reprinting), 
found  little  favour,  and  was  knocked  down 
for  20/-. 

The  Rheatown  (lot  223)  was  the  only  one 
we  ever  saw  ;  it  was  unused.  We  did  not 
like  its  looks,  though  it  may  be  better  than 
our  fears  would  warrant.  The  biddings 
were  somewhat  slow  for  this,  and  its  fate  was 
known  at  65/-. 

Marion  again,  with  its  hitherto  unknown 
riches  of  2  c,  3c!  5c.!!  and  10  c  ! ! !  is  to 
us  a  mystery  ;  none  of  the  four  values  were 
postmarked  ;  they  realised  about  £5  apiece, 
one,  we  think,  five  guineas.  We  wish  the 
purchasers  joy  ;  they  have  more  faith  in  them 
than  we  possess,  and  we  shrewdly  suspect 
that,  as  the  plates  are  in  existence,  we  have 
not  yet  seen  the  last  of  these  ugly  affairs.  It 
would  be  a  serious  misfortune  if  the  prices 
got  at  this  sale  should,  encourage  a  reprint. 

Pleasant  Shade  again  (lot  240,  fetching 
35/-)  is  a  stamp  we  believe  to  be  at  best  re- 
printed, but  more  likely  a  humbug  altogether. 
Who  ever  saw  an  undoubtedly  genuine 
postmarked  copy  ?  Where  is  Pleasant 
Shade  ?  and  what  happened  to  it  during  the 
war  of  the  rebellion  ?  These  questions,  if 
candidly  answered,  might  help  far  to  solve 
the  point. 

Athens  (lot  235)  realised  80/-.  We  do  not 
believe  in  this  stamp  at  all  ;  and  on  in- 
spection at  once  should  say,  Garotte.  The 
Macons  (lots  236-9)  seemed  to  be  received 
by  the  company  with  great  incredulity,  a 
sentiment  in  which  we  fully  share ;  we  be- 
lieve such  a  stamp  really  exists,  but  deem 
those  offered  at  the  auction  to  be  reprinted, 
and,  consequently,  mere  rubbish. 

The  Confederate  envelopes  were  a  queer- 
looking  lot.  One  London  amateur  bit  his 
fingers  in  paying  60/-  for  a  copy  (evidently 
reprinted)  of  the  so-called  Knoxville  en- 
velope. Who  ever  saw  a  used  copy  of  this? 
The  fresh  ink  of  the  impression  was  clearly 
visible  as  the  auctioneer's  assistant  held  it 
up  in  passing  our  eyes.  The  other  envelopes 
seemed  chiefly  made  by  impressing  the 
rudest  red  and  black  figures  on  coarse  brown 
shop-paper  envelopes  ; — a  very  dull-looking, 
uninteresting  series  they  were.  About  20/- 
each  seemed  to  be  the  average  price,  and  we 


thought  they  were  mostly  bought  in.  One 
Houston,  postmarked  (lot  256),  fetched  £3  ; 
this  looked  a  genuine  postmarked  envelope 
to  our  rapid  glance  as  it  passed. 

A  few  United  States  envelopes,  some  being 
very  fine  varieties,  and  about  as  good  as  any- 
thing in  the  sale,  brought  it  to  a  close.  These 
also  seemed  to  us  bought  in,  as  did  many,  if 
not  a  majority  of  the  lots  all  through.  Our 
cursory  pencil  jottings  of  the  prices  showed, 
that  the  hammer  fell  to  a  total  of  nearly 
two  hundred  guineas  in  the  aggregate, — a 
little  more,  perhaps,  than  less,  but  we  are 
not  far  from  the  mark. 

The  auctioneer,  who  made  his  first  ex- 
perience in  selling  stamps,  was  evidently 
somewhat  amused  at  the  proceedings ;  so 
were  one  or  two  casual  strangers  who  drop- 
ped in  during  the  sale. 

Once,  to  a  lot  described  as  "believed  to  be 
unique,"  the  auctioneer  remarked  the  an- 
nouncement was  modest,  which  provoked  one 
of  the  company  to  say,  "  We  expected  that 
from  America  just  now  !  "  This  elicited  some 
laughter,  but  otherwise  we  have  seen  much 
more  fun  over  a  country  sale  of  crockery 
ware,  and  much  more  spirit  in  the  biddings. 

Almost  all  the  leading  metropolitan 
amateurs  and  dealers  were  present,  with  re- 
presentatives of  the  philatelic  press,  so  that 
a  more  favourable  company  can  hardly  be 
expected  on  any  subsequent  occasion.  But 
there  was  an  evident  atmosphere  of  distrust 
as  to  many  of  the  lots  ;  a  pervading  idea  of 
reprinting,  and  dread  of  bogus  stamps, 
which  seemed  to  weigh  against  the  biddings  ; 
an  impression  not  altogether  removed  by  the 
fact,  that  most  of  the  rarities  in  locals  were 
either  bought  in  by  Mr.  Scott,  or  supposed 
to  have  been  purchased  for  American  com- 
missions. Nothing  prejudices  the  spirit  or 
competition  of  a  public  sale  so  much  as  the 
idea  that  the  bidders  are  to  be  trotted  out 
against  the  proprietor,  or  must  bid  in  the 
dark  against  unknown  competitors. 

We  shall  look  with  interest  to  see  if,  in 
the  result,  this  sale  sets  the  fashion,  and 
brings  others  in  its  train  ;  and  if  fresh  im- 
portations of  stamps,  whose  authenticity  is 
equivocal,  make  their  mushroom  appearance 
in  the  market. 


52 


THE   STAAIP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


THE    PRINTING   OF 

THE    LUXEMBURG    STAMPS. 

RFPRIXTED   FKOM    "' LE    TliCBEE-POSTI. 

Looked  at   from  an   artistic  point  of  view, 
the    Luxemburg    postage    stamps    are    dis- 
tinguished as  well  by  their  design  as  by  their 
perfect    execution.       Those     of     the     first  ! 
emission,    with    effigy    of  the    King-Grand- 
Duke,  possess,  beyond  contradiction,  great 
merit.     As  far  as  fineness  of  engraving  goes,  i 
they  may  be  placed  in  the  same  rank  with  | 
the  first  Dutch  stamps,  which  are  excellent 
engravings,  and  even  with  the  Belgian  stamp  ', 
of  the  first  series, — recognised  as  one  of  the 
most  beautiful, — surpassed  in  design  or  execu- 
tion only  by  the  magnificent  English  stamps. 
and  those  of  some  of  the  English  colonies. 

The  stamps  of  the  other  two  types  are  ir-  | 
reproachably  executed,  and  are  far  above 
those  of  the  German  states,  manufactured 
after  the  same  plan.  Above  all,  the  last 
represented  by  the  1.  2,  and  4  cent.,  is 
of  incontestable  fineness  ;  it  is  remarkable 
by  its  well-brought-out  details,  as  also  by  its 
charming  ornaments,  and  may  compete  with 
the  French  stamps,  fabricated  upon  a  su- 
perior system. 

The  stamps  of  the  first  issue  were  pre- 
pare'! by  the  government,  by  which  it  was 
considered  advisable  to  follow  the  method 
employed  in  Belgium,  a  method  which  had, 
in  fact,  been  first  adopted  by  England,  and 
consisted  in  engraving  the  design  in  taille- 
douce,  on  steel  plates. 

M.  Barth,  engraver,  and  M.  Michel,  me- 
chanic, both  Lnxemburgers,  were  sent  to 
Brussels,  to  visit  the  workshops  of  the 
Belgian  government,  and  to  get  ready  the 
necessary  plant.  The  first  made  the  ma- 
trices, the  reproducing  cylinders,  and  the 
plates,  of  which  there  were  four,  two  for  each 
value,  each  plate  containing  200  copies.  The 
second  constructed  the  forms  for  the  fabri- 
cation of  the  watermarked  paper,  as  also  the 
printing-machines,  and  those  for  surfacing 
and  pressing  the  paper. 

The  enormous  expenses  which  attended 
the  mounting  of  the  first  stamp  manufactory 
(from   E  6f    '/),  decided  the   g 

ruent  to  give  up  the  system  of  engraving  on 
steel  for  the  other  stamps.     Another   cause 


of  the  abandonment  of  this  costly  process 
was  the  outlay  occasioned  by  the  preparation 
of  an  annual  supply  of  the  stamps. — a  work 
executed  by  M.  Barth,  under  the  surveillance 
and  control  of  a  government  agent, — an 
outlay  which  each  time  amounted  to  £24, 
and  which,  with  the  cost  of  keeping  the  ma- 
chines in  order,  far  exceeded  the  sum  neces- 
sary for  the  acquisition  of  the  materiel  re- 
quired for  the  manufacture  and  the  printing 
of  a  several  years'  stock  of  all  the  stamps  of 
the  other  two  types. 

The  first  machines  were  sold  by  tho 
government  as  soon  as  the  plates  became  un- 
serviceable for  the  printing  of  the  stamps. 

Of  the  first  type  M.  Barth  has  proeluced  a 
proof  of  the  10  c,  and  of  the  1  s.  gr.,  printed 
in  black  on  whitish  drawing  paper;  and 
another  proof  of  the  10  c,  in  black  on  or- 
dinary paper. 

TVhen.  in  1859,  it  was  decided  to  intro- 
duce the  25,  30,  2>7\.  anel  40  c.  stamps  of  the 
second  type,  it  was  necessary,  as  above 
stated,  to  change  the  system  of  printing,  on 
account  of  its  expensiveness.  The  system 
of  printing  by  the  typographic  process,  by 
means  of  electrotype  casts,  already  in  use  in 
most  of  the  German  states,  was  then  adopted. 
Tenders  for  the  printing  were  at  once  re- 
ceived from  Luxemburg  engravers,  typo- 
graphers, and  printers  :  those  of  a  Frankfort 
type-founder,  M.  Dressier,  to  whom  the 
government  had  addressed  itself,  were,  how- 
ever, found  the  most  advantageous,  and  were 
accepted. 

It  was  this  gentleman  who  made  the  cur- 
rent 10,  TJ^.  25,  30,  374,  and  40  c.  stamps. 
For  a  sum  of  about  forty  pounds  he  furnished 
250  cubes  of  the  10  centimes  and  12-5  cubes 
of  each  of  the  other  values.  When  making 
his  tender,  he  submitted  for  inspection  by 
the  government  a  proof  of  the  10,  and  one  of 
the  30  centimes,  printed  in  black,  on  white 
paper,  of  perfect  execution,  and  of  which 
there  exist  but  a  few  rare  copies. 

At  first,  the  work  of  printing  the  stamps 
was  entrusted  to  Luxemburg  printers  ;  Mr. 
V.  Buck  then  sent  in  (June,  1H59)  a  proof 
of  the  30  cent.,  in  brownish  lilac,  on  white 
laid  paper,  watermarked  with  a  w.  The  exe- 
cution was  very  mediocre :  the  printer  did 
not  succeeel  in  bringing  out  the  fine   points 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


53 


of  the  design,  probably  because  the  instru- 
ments employed  were  not  exact  enough,  or 
the  workmen  did  not  possess  the  requisite 
experience  for  such  delicate  work. 

This  failure  necessitated  a  fresh  inquiry 
abroad,  and  the  Frankfort  printer,  M.  Nau- 
mann,  was  applied  to — the  one  who,  some 
time  previously,  had  made  the  bonds  for  the 
Luxemburg  loan.  By  him  were  presented, 
in  July,  1859,  two  proofs  of  the  10  centimes, 
in  reddish  lilac,  on  white,  machine-made 
paper,  one  without  watermark,  and  the  other 
with  a  w  as  a  watermark ;  and  the  satis- 
factory way  in  which  they  were  executed 
secured  him  the  concession  of  the  contract 
for  printing  the  stamps.  It  is  this  same  firm 
which  has  not  only  printed  the  stamps  of  the 
second  type  since  1857,  and  the  1,  2,  and  4  c. 
of  the  third  type,  but  has  also  furnished  the 
casts  for  the  three  latter  stamps,  much  better 
made  than  those  of  the  second  type,  de- 
livered by  the  type-founder,  Dressier. 

In  April,  1863,  Mr.  Erasmy,  lithographer, 
of  Luxemburg,  solicited  the  favour  of  being 
allowed  to  print  the  stamps,  and  submitted 
to  the  government  two  typographic  proofs 
of  the  10  c,  printed  in  dull  blue,  one  water- 
marked with  a  w,  the  other  unwatermarked. 
The  impression  on  the  watermarked  paper 
succeeded  better  than  the  other,  but  the  two 
proofs  not  being  found  satisfactory,  the 
government  continued  to  confide  the  printing 
to  M.  Naumann. 

When  the  change  of  colour  of  the  10,  25, 
and  37|  c.  took  place,  in  July,  1865,  and 
again  on  the  occasion  of  the  issue  of  the  20  c, 
in  1867,  M.  Naumann's  firm  presented  as 
proofs,  to  be  chosen  from  by  the  government, 
all  the  stamps  of  the  two  latter  types,  printed 
in  various  colours,  of  which  the  following- 
have  found  a  place  in  some  collections  : — 

1  centime  blue,  rose,  green,  pale  lilac,  reddish  lilac, 

brown  (imperforate) . 

2  ,,      blue,  rose,  green  (imperforate). 
4        ,,      blue,  rose,  green  (imperforate). 

10  ,,  lilac-mauve,  light  lilac,  reddish  lilac,  dark 
brown,  Prussian  blue  (imperforate) . 

12J      ,,      green  (rouletted  in  lines  of  colour). _ 

20  ,,  vermilion,  iron-grey,  ash,  brownish  grey, 
olive,  sea-green,  light  blue  (rouletted  in 
lines  of  colour). 

20        ,,      blue,  rose,  green  (imperforate). 

25        „      reddish  lilac,  green  (imperforate). 

37|      ,,      light  blue  (rouletted  in  lines  of  colour). 

40        „       light  brown  (  „  „  ). 


PAPERS  FOR  BEGIXNERS.— No.  XVIII. 


BY   OVEUY   TAYLOR. 

EUROPE. 

THE   DAXUBIAN   PRINCIPALITIES; 

{Continued  from  page  25.) 
Here  the  string  of  facts  comes  to  an  end, 
and  we  are  called  upon,  with  their  aid,  to 
estimate  the  value  of  the  numerous  types 
which  preteud  to  genuineness.  Whoever  is 
practically  acquainted  with  the  extent  of  the 
demand  for  stamps  by  collectors,  will,  I  am 
sure,  be  disposed  to  agree  with  my  assertion, 
that  the  total  number  of  specimens  of  these 
early  Moldavian  printed  to  meet  it  is  four 
or  five  times  greater  than  the  number  of 
stamps  shown  by  the  official  documents  to 
have  been  struck  off  for  use  in  Moldavia 
itself.  They  have  been  in  constant  request, 
have  been  sold  for  the  last  nine  years  by 
every  dealer  of  any  standing,  have  never 
been  dear,  and  are  met  with  in  every  album 
of  any  pretensions  whatever.  Under  Dr. 
Magnus'  analysis  they  resolve  themselves 
into  fifteen  distinct  types,  five  for  each  value, 
but  the  finance  office  minute  distinctly 
states  that  four  "  seals,"  or  handstamps, 
only  were  prepared,  and  that  with  them 
the  supply  of  24,000  labels  was  to  be  struck. 
There  could  have  been  no  casts  taken,  the 
four  dies  were  sufficient  for  such  a  very 
moderate  amount  of  work,  and  when  it  was 
done,  they  were,  with  due  formality,  returned 
to  the  finance  minister.  Hence  it  results,  be- 
yond dispute,  that  there  can  be  but  one  genuine 
type  for  each  value,  and  this  is  a  deducible 
fact  which  overrules  Dr.  Magnus's  leaning 
in  favour  of  the  authenticity  of  two  types  of 
each.*  The  old  hypothesis,  accounting  for 
the  existence  of  varieties,  to  the  effect  that 
each  post-office  possessed  its  own  dies,  and 
struck  off  its  own  supplies,  is  equally  upset. 
Although  the  design  and  execution  of  the 
stamps  are  barbarous  in  the  extreme,  and 
their  presumed  hap-hazard  arrangement 
would  lead  us  to  argue  a  totally  unregulated 

*  Tbis  was  in  type  before  I  saw  the  editorial  foot-note 
in  the  February  number,  respecting  the  learned  doctor's 
present  opinion.  1  have,  however,  thought  it  better  to 
leave  these  observations  in  type,  as  it  is  desirable,  once 
and  for  all,  to  establish  the  truth  respecting  these  stamps. 


54 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


issue,  the  facts  are,  that  the  stock  was 
worked  off  at  one  place  and  time  under  the 
superintendence  of  a  qualified  official,  the 
numbers  printed,  issued,  and  returned  into 
stock,  being  known. 

Again,  returning  to  our  starting-point,  it 
is  known  that  nearly  all  the  Moldavian 
stamps  at  present  in  existence  are  unused 
copies.  This  is  a  characteristic  which  alone 
suffices  to  condemn  them.  It  is  hardly  pos- 
sible that  a  genuine  unused  copy  can  be  in 
existence ;  if  any  are  to  be  found  they  must 
rank  among  the  primest  rarities  in  a  collec- 
tion. To  prove  my  position,  and,  at  the  risk 
of  being  reproached  with  repetition,  let  me 
remind  my  readers  that  the  24,000  stamps 
printed  were  estimated  to  be  sufficient  for 
a  year's  consumption,  and  that  when  the  issue 
was  withdrawn,  after  a  currency  of  only 
sixteen  weeks,  about  half  the  total  num- 
ber were  found  unissued  in  the  cashier's 
safe.  What  had  become  of  the  other  half  ? 
The  only  rational  answer  is  that  they  had 
been  used.  The  consumption  had  been  con- 
siderably in  excess  of  the  estimate,  but  primi- 
tive indeed  must  have  been  the  habit  of  cor- 
respondence in  Moldavia  if  the  whole  country 
could  not  furnish  twelve  thousand  letters  in 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  year.  Still,  it  may 
be  urged,  what  actual  proof  is  there  that  a 
certain  number  of  surplus  stamps  did  not 
remain  in  the  provinces,  and  thus  ultimately 
find  their  way  into  the  hands  of  collectors, 
— in  other  words,  that  the  stock  found  in 
the  cashier's  safe  comprehended  the  unem- 
ployed supplies  issued  to  the  provincial 
post-offices  ?  This  objection  it  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  dispose  of,  for  strong  inferential  proof 
exists  that  all  the  unemployed  stamps  were 
included  in  the  stock  returned  to  the  finance 
minister.  The  inventory  of  the  "remain- 
der "  was  taken  on  the  26th  February, 
185(J,  whilst  the  circulation  ceased  on  the 
1st  November,  1858.  There  was,  therefore, 
an  interval  of  about  four  months,  during 
which  there  would  be  ample  time  for  the 
country  offices  to  return  their  unused  stock 
to  the  head  office  ;  and  the  only  one  missing 
link  in  the  chain  is  the  date  of  the  death  or 
final  withdrawal  from  his  office  of  the  cashier, 
as  operations  seem  to  have  been  suspended 
after  his  departure.     It  is,  however,  fair  to 


suppose  that  as  the  head  post-office  had  to 
render  to  the  finance  office  a  rigorously 
strict  statement  of  the  unemployed  stamps, 
accompanying  that  statement  with  the 
stamps  themselves,  it  exacted  an  equally 
strict  statement,  and  the  return  of  the  un- 
employed stamps,  from  its  own  subordi- 
nate offices.  Besides  which,  the  postmaster 
and  the  controller,  in  returning  the  "  re- 
mainder"  to  the  finance  office,  are  careful 
to  state  that  they  will  be  followed  by  an 
"  account,"  which  could  hardly  be  other  than 
a  table,  showing  the  number  of  stamps  used, 
together  with  other  postal  statistics  in  con- 
nection with  their  issue  and  the  general 
working  of  the  tariff.  From  these  premisses, 
and  the  fact  that  no  mention  is  made,  in 
document  No.  548,  of  outstanding  stock,  I 
conclude  that  the  quantities  therein  named 
really  comprehended  all  the  unissued  and  all 
the  issued  but  unemployed  stamps. 

This  much  being  granted,  the  "remainder" 
of  11,692  stamps  is  traced  into  the  hands 
of  the  finance  minister.  Have  any  of  these 
stamps  ever  been  delivered  out  to  stamp 
collectors  ?  I  answer  decidedly  not,  and  for 
this  simple  reason, — that  if  the  finance  office 
had  given  away  specimens  of  the  three 
higher  values,  it  would  also  have  given  away 
specimens  of  the  27  paras.  There  were 
2325  copies  of  this  latter  value  returned  into 
stock,  or  nearly  double  the  number  of  the  81 
paras ;  yet  not  a  single  unused  copy  has 
ever  been  seen,  nor  is  ever  likely  to  be.  The 
"remainder"  of  all  the  values  must  there- 
fore have  been  destroyed,  or  must  be  still 
lvin^  intact  among-  the  archives  of  the  finance 

JO  o 

office,  and  all  the  unused  specimens  of  the 
four  values  must  be  forgeries  or  reprints. 
:  That  they  are  reprints  I  think  is  not  ad- 
missible. The  dies,  being  rendered  up  to 
the  finance  office,  passed  out  of  the  power  of 
the  postal  employes,  who  have  so  often  been 
solicited  by  dealers  for  specimens ;  and  we 
have  never  heard  of  any  official  reprint 
taking  place  such  as  that  of  the  Austrian 
first  issues,  or  the  French  republic  series  of 
1848.  I  therefore  cannot  see  the  possibility 
of  returning  any  other  verdict  than  that 
they  are  all  alike  forgeries. 

I  do  not  think  it  is  needful  to  discuss  at 
length    the    aspect    of  the    question    which 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


55 


would  result  from  the  assumption  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  alternative  hypothesis  above 
referred  to,  with  regard  to  the  origin  of  the 
unused  specimens,  to  the  effect  that,  not- 
withstanding the  withdrawal  of  the  series, 
the  unemployed  stocks  were  really  held  over 
by  the  post-offices  to  which  they  had  been 
issued ;  for  at  the  very  outset  there  would 
again  arise  the  fatal  objection  that  no  un- 
used copies  of  the  27  paras  have  ever  been 
found ;  and  it  is  not  conceivable  that  the 
stamps  of  this  value  should  have  been  used 
up  to  the  last  one,  whilst  abundant  supplies 
of  the  others  should  have  been  kept  by  the 
provincial  offices. 

To  define  the  true  type  for  each  value 
would  be  a  difficult  and  a  useless  task.  It 
would  be  difficult  because  there  are  so  very 
few  used  specimens  in  existence  to  describe 
from,  and  because  even  the  used  copies  may 
bear  fraudulent  obliterations.*  It  would  be 
useless,  for  in  all  probability  very  few,  if  any, 
of  my  readers  will  ever  be  called  on  to 
decide  on  the  genuineness  of  obliterated 
copies,  and  the  unused  condemn  themselves. 
Dr.  Magnus  has  only  seen  four  obliterated 
copies  in  all — one  of  which,  a  54  paras,  was 
obtained  by  Mr.  Philbrick  from  the  secre- 
tary to  the  late  Lord  Palmerston,  and 
another  is  the  only  known  specimen  of  the 
27  paras.  The  genuineness  of  the  latter 
may  be  taken  for  granted,  and  Dr.  Magnus 
observes  that  this  27  paras  and  Mr. 
Philbrick's  54  paras  are  both  obliterated 
in  the  same  manner,  so  that  the  authenticity 
of  this  latter  is  likewise  proved.  Another 
54  paras,  agreeing  in  type  and  postmark 
with  the  one  above  referred  to,  and  a  108 
paras,  with  a  dubious  postmark  belonging 
to  the  stamps  of  the  second  series,  complete 
the  list  of  the  doctor's  four  specimens. 
Three  only,  out  of  the  four,  are  genuine, 
and  we  less  favoured  collectors  are  not  likely 
to  see  so  many,  therefore  we  had  better  de- 
cide on  abstaining"  altog-ether  from  the  at- 
tempt  to  collect  specimens  of  the  first  Mol- 

*Mr.  Pemberton  says  {Philatelist,  vol.  ii.,  p.  53),  "Who 
can  show  us  a  specimen  with  a  postmark  whose  genuine- 
ness can  be  proved  beyond  suspicion  ?  Of  course  there 
are  plenty  of  them  [?]  to  be  seen  postmarked,  but  what 
is  that  postmark  ? — a  rather  close  imitation  of  one  found 
on  some  of  the  1861  stamps,  and  the  shape  of  which  is  very 
peculiar. 


davian  series.  We  must  look  upon  them 
as  philatelic  mammoths  and  dodos, — extinct 
species,  of  which  but  few  traces  exist ;  and, 
above  all,  we  must  refrain  from  investing  in 
the  spurious  imitations  which  are  all  that  can 
now  be  obtained. 

Whence  come  these  imitations,  which  have 
been  offered  in  good  faith  by  many  dealers 
of  unblemished  honesty?  From  the  very 
spot  where,  of  all  others,  it  might,  in  the 
absence  of  positive  information,  have  been 
supposed  that  genuine  specimens  were  ob- 
tainable,— from  Jassy.  Mons.  Moens  has 
received  his  from  the  Austrian  post-office 
there.  Dr.  Viner,  as  long  since  as  1864, 
got  them  in  the  same  town  ;  and  other 
applicants  have  also  drawn  their  supplies 
from  Jassy,  or  from  the  district.  This 
just  shows,  that  as  soon  as  the  demand  for 
stamps  sprung  into  existence,  and  inquiries 
were  addressed  to  postal  officials  in  Moldavia, 
they,  or  others  for  them,  were  shrewd  enough 
and  dishonest  enough  to  profit  by  it,  by  fab- 
ricating impressions  to  imitate  the  genuine 
ones.  Perhaps,  by  this  time,  those  who  fur- 
nish the  imitations  have  got  to  believe  them 
to  be  genuine,  and  so,  too,  have  a  good  many 
collectors,  who  will  be  loth  to  admit  that 
they  have  been  deceived  ;  but  we  now  know 
the  truth  concerning  the  emission,  and  we 
must  submit  to  its  results. 

The  late  discovery  of  the  27  paras  is  a  re- 
markable circumstance,  to  which,  in  con- 
clusion, it  is  necessary  to  refer,  to  prevent  the 
deduction  of  erroneous  inferences.  It  might 
be  said,  it  is  strange  that  the  officials  who 
forced  or  sold  forgeries  of  the  three  higher 
values  did  not  likewise  forge  the  lower  one. 
But  the  true  answer  to  this  must  be  that  its 
existence  was  overlooked,  or  forgotten.  The 
very  fact  that  the  true  stamp  Avas  not  dis- 
covered until  1863  proves  it.  The  27  paras 
had  as  real  an  existence  as  the  others,  and 
was  more  used  than  two  out  of  the  other 
three  values ;  yet  no  one,  writing  from 
Roumania,  ever  referred  to  it,  and  had  it  not 
in  some  sort  sunk  into  oblivion,  some  one  or 
another  would,  even  if  unable  to  procure  it, 
have  at  least  referred  to  the  fact  of  its  having 
existed.  But  this  value,  it  must  be  re- 
membered, was  used  only  for  the  shorter 
distances,  and  less  notice  may    have    been 


53 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


taken  of  it  than  of  the  stamps  which  prepaid 
"large"  or  registered  letters.*  Furthermore, 
in  1862  the  entire  postal  service  was  re- 
organised, and  very  probably,  on  that  oc- 
casion, important  changes  in  the  personnel 
took  place,  the  head  office  also  being  moved 
from  Jassy  to  Bucharest ;  and  it  was  not 
until  the  year  after  that  inquiries  were  made 
at  Jassy  for  the  stamps  of  a  series  two  re- 
moves from  the  one  then  current.  These 
circumstances  answer  the  conjectures  which 
might  be  founded  on  the  isolated  fact  of  the 
immunity  from  forgery  of  the  27  paras,  but 
were  they  insufficient  for  the  purpose,  such 
conjectures  could  not  shake  the  value  of  the 
other  and  combined  facts  which  demonstrate 
the  impossibility  of  the  unused  copies  of  the 
remaining  values  being  anything  else  than 
forgeries. 


THE    EXGRAVIXG    AXD    PRIXTIXG 
OF   POSTAGE    STAMPS. 

A   CRITIQUE,    BY   AX    ENGRAVER. 

M.  Motteroz  has  just  published  a  remark- 
able work — Essais  sur  les  gravures  chimiques 
en  relief.  The  same  indefatigable  explorer  of 
every  ramification  of  printing  art  has  sent  a 
long  communication  to  ISImprimerie  concern- 
ing the  manufacture  of  bank  notes  and 
postage  stamps ;  and  on  the  subject  of 
postage-stamp  printing  we  find  him  so 
interesting  that  we  shall  quote  him  en- 
tire :  — 

To  be  convinced  that  there  are  difficulties 
almost  insurmountable  in  executing  really 
fine  printing,  it  is  enough  to  look  at  postage 
stamps,  which  each  government  endeavours 
to  have  as  well  executed  as  it  can  get 
them. 

On  their  first  appearance,  postage  stamps 
were  almost  everywhere  produced  by  the 
copper-plate  process  ;  in  two  or  three  coun- 
tries lithography  was  the  fashion. 

These  two  printing  processes  are  enor- 
mously more  costly  and  less  regular  than  that 
of  letter-press.  Plates,  like  transfers,  wear 
out    rapidly  ;    and  after  having   had  a  few 


*  This  argument  is  also  adduced  by  a  well-known 
writer  in  the  Phitatelical  Journal  for  February,  in  the 
i  a  short  but  interesting  article  on  these  stamps. 


good  proofs,  one  has  to  do  with  blurred  and 
worn-out  lines. 

A  large  number  of  countries  now  follow 
the  letter-press  plan;  and  since  every  govern- 
ment endeavours  to  have  its  letter-press 
stamps  as  fine  as  if  in  copper,  we  may  judge 
of  the  difficulties  there  are  to  surmount. 

The  examination  of  a  collection,  almost 
complete,  which  M.  Baillieu  has  been  so 
kind  as  to  place  at  my  disposal,  together 
with  a  large  amount  of  information,  enables 
me  to  give  a  few  hasty  outlines  of  the 
present  state  of  postage-stamp  printing  in 
the  different  divisions  of  the  globe. 

Lithographed  Stamps. — Mexico  and  most 
of  the  Spanish  colonies  employ  lithography, 
although  the  results  obtained  are  generally 
bad. 

Bergedorf  has  some  rather  srood  proofs. 

Rournania,  some  very  middling. 

New  Caledonia  lithographs  a  horrible 
caricature  of  Napoleon  III. 

During  the  siege  of  Paris  the  government, 
which  probably  failed  to  send  its  postage- 
stamp  cliches  out  of  town,  had  some  stamps 
lithographed  in  the  country,  which  were 
not  nearly  so  bad  as  the  other  lithographed 
stamps. 

Stamps  from  Copper -plate. — The  United 
States  use  copper-plate  both  for  their  bank 
notes  and  their  postage  stamps,  and  have 
obtained  splendid  results.  A  postage  stamp 
for  15  cents  reproduces  a  large  picture 
representing  Columbus  taking  possession  of 
America,  and  each  one  of  the  numerous 
personages  is  perfectly  visible. 

Brazil,  Chili,  and  the  Argentine  Con- 
federation, have  now  very  fine  postage 
stamps,  engraved  and  printed  at  New  York 
by  the  American  Bank  Note  Company. 

Jamaica,  Malta,  and  Holland,  for  the 
higher-priced  stamps,  have  very  finely- 
wrought  engravings ;  too  much  so  for  good 
printing. 

Canada,  New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia, 
Newfoundland,  and  some  other  English 
Colonies,  still  use  copper-plate. 

Letter-press  Stamps. — Russia  employs  thin 
inks,  and  has  some  chefs-rVceu  vre  of  typography. 

The  stamps  for  the  English  colony  of 
Hong  Kong  are  almost  as  fine  as  those  of 
Russia;  and  some  of  them  miirht  be  mistaken 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


57 


for  copper-plate  engravings.  The  celebrated 
house  of  De  La  Rue  &  Co.,  of  London,  pro- 
duces them.  This  extraordinary  house  manu- 
factures the  stamps  of  a  large  number  of 
countries,  aud  engages  in  everything  which 
relates  to  paper.  At  this  very  moment  it 
has  hold  of  the  French  market  for  letter 
papers,  and  our  stationers  do  not  go  out  of 
their  way  to  struggle  against  this  invasion. 

The  British  Indian  stamps,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  Mauritius,  are  very  striking  as 
to  their  printing. 

The  latest  issue  of  Portugal  is  also  very 
fine. 

Whilst  the  English  colonies  have  stamps 
printed  in  superior  style,  Great  Britain  her- 
self has  very  ordinary  ones.  The  English 
stamps  are  at  about  the  same  level  as  those 
of  Turkey,  Greece,  Switzerland,  France, 
Prussia,  Hanover,  Denmark,  and  Wiirtem- 
burg.  In  the  last-named  country,  about  the 
year  1850,  a  very  elegant  stamp  was  brought 
cut,  composed  exclusively  of  vignettes  and 

Stamp  printing  is  less  than  mediocre  in 
Poland,  in  Norway,  in  South  Australia,  and 
New  South  Wales  ;  it  is  really  bad  in 
Victoria,  and  particularly  in  Spain  and  the 
Spanish  colonies,  where  letter-press  is  used. 

Italy  is  difficult  to  class.  It  is  the  country 
of  experiments  in  stamps.  The  Italian  are 
of  all  styles  ;  and  in  the  present  time  some 
are  made  which  are  rather  good  than  bad. 
But  in  this  land  of  art,  nothing  excellent 
has  been  produced,  if  we  except  the  very 
remarkable  copper-plate  stamp  produced  in 
Sicily,  towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of 
Ferdinand. 

Of  all  postage  stamps,  the  worst  are  those 
of  the  Papal  States.  Engraving  and  print- 
ing alike  carry  us  back  to  the  infancy  of 
those  two  arts. 

Conclusion. — In  the  very  considerable  num- 
ber of  stamps  made  use  of  in  all  countries, 
there  is  scarcely  half  a  score  of  which  one 
can  say, — these  are  well  printed.  If  an  ex- 
amination were  made  of  the  innumerable 
papers  of  value,  of  private  and  public  banks, 
all  the  world  over,  the  same  proportion  would 
be  disclosed.  Whence  it  may  be  concluded, 
that  the  most  insurmountable  obstacle  to  op- 
pose to  the  forging  of  bank  notes,  postage 


stamps,  and  other  papers  of  value,  is  an 
absolutely  perfect  impression  of  finely-en- 
graved  surfaces. 

At  the  present  time,  when  the  increase  in 
our  taxes  is  causing  a  great  number  of  new 
stamps  to  be  printed,  I  have  thought  it  my 
duty  to  point  out  the  surest  means  of  frus- 
trating the  designs  of  those  who  may  in- 
tend to  defraud  the  public  treasury. — The 
Printers'  Register. 

NEWLY-ISSUED    OR   INEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Our  budget  this  month  is  comparatively  un- 
attractive, being  almost  exclusively  com- 
posed of  notices  of  minor  varieties.  The 
sole  prominent  exception  is  the  new  series  for 
Prince  Edward  Island. — This  is  noticed 
by  our  New  York  contemporary,  who  de- 
scribes it  as  "  simply  a 
disgrace  to  any  country." 
The  stamps  are,  according 
to  him,  "  the  poorest  en- 
graved in  use  in  the 
British  dominions  ;  "  aud 
we  can  fully  bear  out  his 
opinion  ourselves,  and  so, 
we  think,  will  our  readers 
the  annexed  engraving, 
values  is  as  follows  : — 

One      cent  orange 

Three     ,,  rose 

Six  ,,  violet 

Twelve  ,,  green 

The  design  consists  of  the  head  of  the 
Queen  to  left,  in  various  frames,  and  inscribed 

PRINCE    EDWARD    ISLAND,     POSTAGE,    with    value 

in  words.  The  stamps  are  printed  on  soft 
white  paper,  unwatermarked  and  badly 
perforated.  In  size  they  are  rather  above 
the  average,  being  as  large  as  the  Costa  Rica 
stamps.  It  is  surprising  that  at  a  period  in 
the  issue  of  stamps,  when  all  our  colonies  are 
seeking  to  obtain  finely-engraved  and  artistic 
designs,  the  Prince  Edward  Island  authorities 
should,  from  an  apparent  enthusiasm  for 
economy,  prefer  the  rough  productions  of 
some  native  artist  to  the  finished  works  of 
the  American  Bank  Note  Company.  As 
these  stamps  mark  the  supercession  of  the 


after  examining 
The   list    of  the 


58 


THE    STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


antiquated  currency,  in  favour  of  the  decimal 
system,  they  were  certainly  worthy  of  a 
finer  design. 

Russiah  Locals. — VVe  are  in  receipt  of  a 
batch  of  hitherto  unengraved  locals,  from 
v    St    Pete  -burg    correspondent,    which 
we  proceed  to  describe. 

Tamboff. — Annexed  are  illustrations  of  the 
3  kop.  stamp,  black  on  white,  described  in 
the  list  published  by 
us  in  July  last,  and 
of  a  new  5  kop. 
stamp,  issued  in 
mauve,  of  a  delicate 
feint,  on  white,  re- 
minding one  strongly  of  the  5  kop.  Rus- 
sian envelope.  The  design  is  very  fairly 
engraved  in  this  latter,  and  our  corres- 
pondent assigns  as  a  reason  for  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  bees  and  hive,  which  form 
the  armorial  bearings  of  the  government  or 
county  of  Tamboff,  situate  to  the  south-east 
of  Moscow,  that  that  srovernnient  is  entirely 
composed  of  very  fertile  land. 

Im •::'.. — This  is  the  least  interesting  of  all 
the  Russian  locals,   and  in  appearan. 

sembles  nothing  so  nearly 
as  a  bobbin  label.  De- 
scription— "  bless  you  (to 
paraphrase  on  Canning's 
knife-grinder),  we've  none 
to  give,"'  further  than 
that  the  impression  is  on 
a  crimson  paper,  and  that 
the  stamp  is  punched  out 
of  the  paper  on  which  it  is  printed,  so  as 
to  leave  a  rim  of  scalloped  dents  following 
the  outer  margin  of  the  border. 

— The  3  kopecs  stamp  (brown), 
known  so  long  since  as  18G9,  and  engraved 
on  p.  11  of  The  v:  ip-l  .  k  ':  21. 
for  1*70.  has  been  superseded  by  a  stamp  of 
similar  design,  the  value  being  increase 
in  the  case  of  the  Tamboff,  from  three  to  five 
kopecs.  The  new  comer  is  lithographed 
deep  red  on  white.  The  device  in  the 
centre  is  a  play  on  the  name  of  the  town, 
which  signifies  a  bag. 

Our  correspondent,  with  reference  to  the 
Tamboff  and  Soumma  stamps,  makes  the 
very  just  observation  that  the  retrograde 
movement,  evidenced  in  the  increase  of  the 


local  rates  from  3  to  5  kopecs  is  much  to 
be  regretted.  It  would  seem,  however,  that 
these  low  rates  do  not  really  pav.  Our 
correspondent  was  so  informed  by  the  local 
authorities,  from  whom  he  obtained  the  spe- 
cimens he  has  sent  us,  and  they  eave  that  as 
a  reason  for  charging  him  an  extra  kopec 
each  for  the  stamps. 

Egorieff. — The  diamond-shaped  3  kopecs 
stamp,  of  which  we  gave  an  illustration  in 
our  magazine  for  ^November  last,  exists  in  at 
least  two  varieties  of  type.  There  are  a 
black  and  blue,  both  lithographs,  and  a  black 
impression,  apparently  from  an  engraved 
die.  The  execution  of  the  latter  is  relatively 
very  fine,  the  lines  of  the  ground- work  being 
very  clearly  drawn,  and  the  lettering  and 
corner  stars  sharp  and  well-defined.  The 
paper,  also,  is  thicker  and  stouter. 

Turkey.— T.  B.  Morton  y  Co.— The  10 
paras  journal  stamp,  to  which  we  referred 
last  month,  is  now  in  use.  and  differs  very 
much  from  the  original  design,  of  which  we 
lately  gave  an  illustration.  The  error  of 
the  lithographer  has  led  to  the  entire  sup- 
pression of  the  diagonal  lines  and  the  oval 
corner  disks,  and  the  flag  has  been  re-drawn. 
The  design  now  consists  of  the  border, 
scroll,  and  the  words  JOURNAL  stamp,  in 
black,  and  the  value,  flag,  and  anchors,  in 
red.  The  value  occupies  the  same  place  as 
in  the  proof,  and  the  anchors  are  in  a  slanting 
position   in    the   lower    corners.       The    im- 

sssion  is  on  white  paper,  perforated,  and 
altogether  its  effect  is  decidedly  poor. 

The  proof  represented  in  our  last  number 
was  not  the  first  design  submitted  to  the 
Morton  company.  The  really  original  de- 
sign, now  before  us,  has  the  oval  disks  at  the 
corners,  but  they  are  unshaded,  and  the 
diagonal  lines  are  also  wanting.  Nine  thou- 
sand impressions  of  this  type  were  struck  off, 
in  anticipation  of  its  acceptance,  on  blue 
paper,  the  disks  being  printed  in  mauve,  and 
they  have  now  been  turned  to  account  by 
the  company,  in  consequence  of  a  reduction 
of  its  letter-rates  from  2  piastres  to  14- 
piastre.  A  50  paras  stamp  is  to  be  issued  to 
represent  this  rate  ;  but  pending  its  pre- 
paration the  blue  10  para  journal  stamps  are 
emploved,  in  conjunction  with  the  1  r 
stamp,  issued  in  1870  5  and  to  fit  them  for 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


59 


this  service  the  word  letter  has  been  sur- 
charged in  red  on  the  word  Journal. 

Deccan. — There  exist  two  values  of  the 
current  series,  one  of  which  has  beeu  only 
partially  noticed,  and  the  other  not  at  all. 
The  one  anna  was  referred  to  by  Mr. 
Pemberton,  at  p.  123,  of  our  last  volume, 
but  he  had  then  only  a  proof  to  describe 
from,  which  was  printed  in  deep  lilac.  On 
p.  187,  he  gives  the  colour  as  russet-brown, 
and  in  the  February  number  of  the  Phil. 
Journal,  he  quotes  it  as  being  of  a  rich  black- 
brown.  This  designation  is  objected  to  by 
our  Brighton  contemporary,  who  insists  that 
"  a  very  dull  puce-brown  is  the  hue  most 
approaching  the  truth."  We  have  the  stamp 
before  us,  and  at  first  sight  should  have 
pronounced  the  creature  black ;  on  more 
closely  examining  it,  we  find  that  it  is  really  of 
a  brownish  hue,  but  we  hardly  like  to  say 
positively  what  other  tint  enters  into  its  com- 
position ;  we  fancy  a  triple  denomination — 
purple,  blackish  brown — is  required  for  it,  but 
perhaps  purple-sepia  might  be  accepted  as  a 
compromise. 

The  second  value,  which  is  quite  a  new 
one,  is  the  two  annas  bright-green,  respect- 
ing whose  tint  no  controversy  can  possibly 
arise. 

Norway. — The  new  3  sk.,  of  which  we 
gave  an  engraving  last  month,  has  been 
joined  by  a  4  sk.  bright  violet,  and  both 
stamps  bear  a  post-horn  as  watermark.  There 
is  also  a  yellow  post  card  with  the  3  sk.  de- 
sign impressed  in  carmine  on  its  right  upper 
corner.     The  inscription  is  e-rev.  kort. 

Again,  there  is  a  3  sk.  envelope,  bearing 
the  adhesive  design  in  carmine,  and  the 
Norwegian  lion  rampant,  on  a  shaded  shield, 
is  struck  on  the  flap.  We  take  these  details 
from  Le  Timbre-Poste,  not  having  yet  seen 
the  card  ourselves.  An  envelope  and  a  card, 
each  of  the  value  of  2  skilling,  are  expected. 
It  has  been  rumoured  that  the  3  sk.  adhesive 
is  an  official ;  this  we  can  affirm  is  not  the 
case,  as  wre  have  received  it  on  ordinary 
letters. 

France. — The  1,  2,  and  4  centime,  im- 
perforated, with  effigy  of  the  republic,  are 
now  rarely  to  be  met  with.  The  Petit 
Moniteur  TJniversel  of  the  19th  March  con- 
tains the  following  paragraph  : — ■ 


The  postal  administration  will  shortly  put  on  sale 
stamped  envelopes.  It  is  an  experiment  which  will  last 
for  some  weeks.  The  envelopes  and  the  adhesires  will  be 
sold  concurrently,  so  that  the  postal  administration  may 
ascertain  the  public  preference,  with  a  view  to  the 
adoption  of  a  definite  measure. 

We  do  not  know  how  much  importance 
is  to  be  attached  to  this  intelligence ;  we 
fear  not  much.  There  have  been  too  many 
such  canards. 

A  French  paper  of  the  22nd  March 
says : — "  The  idea  of  issuing  postage  stamps 
with  a  large  figure  in  the  centre  has  been 
definitively  abandoned.  Some  designs  of 
this  kind  were  printed  and  submitted  to  the 
president  of  the  republic,  but  they  were 
considered  too  ungainly.  The  new  type 
which  has  been  finally  decided  on  consists  of 
a  small-sized  effigy  of  the  republic,  enclosed 
in  a  broad  border  of  about  a  millimetre  in 
diameter.  The  value  being  thrice  repeated 
in  figures  sufficiently  large,  no  error  can  be 
possible.  The  new  stamps  cannot  be  put  in 
circulation  before  another  month  or  six 
weeks,  for  this  period  will  be  required  to 
engrave  the  plates  and  strike  off  a  sufficient 
number  of  copies." 

Assuming  this  intelligence  to  be  correct, 
the  time  required  for  preparing  a  supply 
seems  \ery  much  underrated,  and  we  can 
hardly  anticipate  the  appearance  of  the  new 
stamps  for  some  months  to  come. 

Ceylon. — The  annexed  engraving  repre- 
sents one  of  the  envelopes 
of  the  new  decimal  series. 
The  engraving  has  been 
supplied  to  us  by  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  Philatelical 
Journal,  and  we  are  unable 
to  do  more  than  insert  it  in 
the  present  number.  In  the 
next  we  hope  to  give  full 
details  respecting  the  series, 
which,  if  the  above  design  may  be  taken  as 
a  sample,  would  seem  to  vie  in  beauty  with 
its  predecessor. 

Constantinople. — In  the  last  number  of 
Le  Timbre-Poste  appears  an  engraving  of  a 
handstamp,  said  to  be  used  by  the  present 
Constantinople  local  post,  for  the  prepay- 
ment of  printed  matter  sent  under  band, 
for  distribution  in  Constantinople  and  its 
suburbs.       It  is  circular,  with  Turkish  let- 


60 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


tering  in  the  upper  part,  and  p.p.  below. 
The  Turkish  inscription  reads,  tjrzete  ahs 
OLOUNMous,  and  signifies  prepaid.  The  im- 
pression is  in  black,  on  white  and  on  blue 
paper.  What  the  local  post  really  is  we 
know  not;  we  remember  hearing,  some  time 
back,  a  rumour  to  the  effect  that  the  local 
post  had  been  re-established,  but  have  never 
received  any  confirmatory  details  that  such 
was  the  case. 

Great  Britain. — The  vaccination  certifi- 
cates all  bear  an  impression  from  the  die  of 
the  halfpenny  wrapper  stamp,  but  the  tint 
somewhat  differs.  It  is,  however,  princi- 
pally remarkable  from  the  fact  that  the 
three  disks  below  the  circle  bear  the  date — 
18-12-71. 

The  post  cards  are  now  only  sold  at  the 
post-offices  in  batches  of  twelve,  and  private 
cards  will  be  allowed  to  pass  through  the 
post  the  same  as  in  Germany.  Below  we 
give,  verbatim  et  literatim,  the  report  of  the 
proceedings  in  the  House  of  Commons  on 
the  subject.* 

Chili. — We  learn  from  The  Philatelist  that 
envelopes  for  this  republic  have  been  ordered 


*  Mr.  Greene  asked  the  postmaster-general  whether  the 
post-office  authorities  had  decided  that  in  future  not  less 
than  a  dozen  postal  cards  could  be  bought  at  anjr  post- 
office,  an  extra  halfpenny  being  charged  for  the  same  ; 
and,  if  so,  whether  he  had  considered  the  effect  on  the 
poorer  classes,  of  a  decision  which  obliged  them  to 
purchase  twelve  cards,  when  only  requiring  one. 

Mr.  Baxter,  in  the  absence  of  the  postmaster- general, 
said, — It  has  been  decided  that  in  future  not  less  than  a 
dozen  post  cards  can  be  bought  at  any  post-office,  and 
that  an  extra  halfpenny  shall  be  charged  for  the  same. 
Experience  has  shown  that  the  poorer  classes  hardly  ever 
use  post  cards,  and  it  rarely  happens  that  a  single  card  is 
sold  to  anyone.  It  is  calculated  that  the  change  will 
increase  the  revenue  by  £13,000  per  annum.  I  may  add, 
that  papermakers  and  stationers  of  the  United  Kingdom 
have,  from  the  first,  strongly  complained  that  the  interests 
of  their  trade  were  being  seriously  affected  by  the  sale  of 
the  post  cards  for  a  halfpenny  each,  without  any  charge 
being  made  for  the  cards  themselves.  But  this  is  not  the 
only  change  proposed.  The  stationers  have  also  remon- 
strated against  the  exclusion  of  all  private  cards  from  a 
participation  in  the  privileges  accorded  to  the  post  cards 
issued  by  the  Government;  and,  as  the  departmental 
reasons  which  seemed  at  the  first  to  render  such  exclusion 
necessary,  no  longer  exist,  it  is  intended  to  allow  private 
cards,  having  written  communications  upon  them,  to  pass 
through  the  post,  under  certain  restrictions,  for  a  postage 
of  a  halfpenny.  This  will  give  opportunity  to  the 
stationers  to  devise  a  variet)r  of  cards,  differing  both  in 
quality  and  design,  for  general  use ;  and  all  classes  will 
participate,  more  or  less,  in  the  accommodation. — The 
2  lines. 


in  the  United  States,  and  will  consist  of  five 
values,  namely : — 

2  centavos  bronze. 

5         .,         red. 
10         „         bine. 

15         „  (?) 

20         „         green. 

The  impression  will  be  on  white  and 
yellow  and  blue  tinted  paper.  A  fifteen 
centavos  adhesive  is  also  to  be  issued,  but 
its  colour  has  not  yet  been  decided  on. 

Hungary. — The  first  journal  stamp  has 
been  replaced  by  another  type,  which  differs, 
however,  only  in  trifling  details  from  the  old 
one.  The  opening  of  the  post- horn  is  turned 
to  the  left,  and  the  cross  on  the  crown  inclines 
to  the  same  side.  The  new  stamp  is  printed 
in  rose  on  white,  and  is  unperforated. 

Uruguay.— The  provisional  15  c.  bistre, 
of  1864,  has  three  varieties,  (1)  with  figures 
upside  down  ;  (2)  with  three  figures  15,  the 
third  in  the  middle  of  the  stamp  between 
the  two  others  ;   (3)  with  the  figures  20. 

Western  Australia. — The  fourpence  rose 
of,  this  colony  is  now  printed  of  a  maroon 
shade,  and  consequently  presents  a  more 
sombre  appearance. 

Canada. — Another  new  value  of  the  small 
series  has  been  issued — the  two  cents,  of  a 
delicate  chrome-green. 

STRANGE— IF   TRUE. 

ALLEGED   ISSUE   OF   STAMPS    BY   THE   COMMUNE. 

M.  Emile  Lambry  was  employed  in  the  Paris 
post-office  under  the  empire,  and  afterwards 
during  the  siege.  He  probably  continued  to 
exercise  his  functions  during  the  Commune. 
He  is  now  editor  of  La  Verite,  and  he  has  written 
a  book,  which  is  divided  into  two  parts.  The 
first  contains  an  account  of  the  "  Black 
Cabinet  "  and  its  superintendent,  the  second 
is  entitled,  "  The  Post  Office  under  the  Com- 
mune."* 

M.  Lambry,  as  a  post-office  employe,  must 
have  had  peculiar  opportunities  of  informing 
himself  on  many  matters  connected  with  the 
history  and  administration  of  the  service. 
His    account  of  the    manner   in  which    M. 

*  Les  My  sieves  du  Cabinet  Noir  sous  V  Empire  ;  et  La 
Postc  sous  la  Commune.  Par  Emile  Lambrv.  Paris  : 
E.  Dentu. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


61 


Simonel,  the  chief  of  the  secret  cabinet, 
manipulated  suspected  letters,  is  not  the 
hypothesis  of  an  outsider,  but  apparently 
the  result  of  personal  knowledge  and  obser- 
vation. In  like  manner,  though  he  nowhere 
explicitly  states  that  he  remained  at  his  post 
during  the  reign  of  the  Commune,  his  narra- 
tive of  the  events  which  took  place  at  the  Hotel 
desMunnaies  is  of  that  graphic  characterwhich 
denotes  personal  intimacy  with  the  facts  he 
relates.  Therefore,  anything  that  he  states 
is,  prima  facie,  of  special  value,  and  likely  to 
be  true.  His  history  of»the  Cabinet  Noir  is 
very  interesting,  and  we  intend  in  an  early 
number  to  publish  an  abridgment  of  it ;  but 
in  the  present  article  we  only  purpose  to 
bring  before  our  readers,  and  comment  on, 
M.  Lambry's  account  of  the  issue  of  postage 
stamps  by  the  Communist  postmaster. 

After  reciting  the  circumstances  which 
attended  on  the  accession  of  M.  Theisz,  the 
chaser  of  metals,  to  the  directorial  chair,  and 
the  difficulties  which  had  to  be  surmounted 
in  performing  the  postal  service,  M.  Lambry 
goes  on  to  say  : — 

After  much  searching  among  the  office  stores,  a  supply 
of  postage  stamps  representing  a  rather  large  sum  was 
found,  but  they  were  all  of  ten  centimes.  These  were 
used  for  want  of  better,  and  whilst  preparations  were 
being  made  for  striking  oft*  others.  But  the  ordinary 
engravers  to  the  administration  had  nearly  all  taken  to 
flight,  and  those  who  remained  refused  their  services. 
M.  Theisz,  himself  an  engraver,  found  some  workmen  to 
whom  he  entrusted  the  work.  But  how  many  plates  had 
to  be  destroyed  before  a  tolerably  satisfactory  result  could 
be  obtained !  At  last,  after  many  hindrances,  postage 
stamps  could  be  got  of  all  values — from  one  to  eighty 
centimes.  No  attempt  was  made  to  print  five-franc 
stamps ;  in  the  first  place,  because  they  were  more 
difficult  to  impress  than  the  others,  and,  secondly,  for  the 
excellent  reason  that  not  one  would  have  been  sold. 

Hardly  were  these  stamps,  which  had  been  obtained 
with  such  difficulty,  put  in  circulation,  than  a  vexatious 
rumour  was  spread  about.  The  regular  postal  adminis- 
tration had  had  stamps  printed  for  its  use  at  Versailles, 
but,  to  distinguish  them  from  those  fabricated  at  Paris, 
it  abstained  from  perforating  them.  You  know  that  for 
some  years  past,  the  French  administration,  following  in 
this  the  English  example,  had  had  the  sheets  of  stamps 
perforated,  so  that  each  stamp  might  be  easily  separated 
from  its  neighbour.  The  absence  of  perforation  in  the 
Versailles  issue,  therefore,  rendered  evident  the  Parisian, 
falsification.  It  was  even  asserted  that  the  letters  bearing 
a  perforated  stamp  were  considered  as  unpaid;  the 
Versailles  people  drew  a  pen  across  the  stamp,  and  the 
receiver  had  to  pay  the  entire  postage.  This  piece  of 
news  spread  among  the  tradesmen,  and  all  the  large  houses 
sent  their  letters  to  St.  Denis  by  one  of  their  men.  In 
that  town  they  were  prepaid  by  meaus  of  a  Versailles 
stamp. 

M.  Theisz  had  authorised  the  establishment  of  postal 


agencies,  charged  with  the  duty  of  carrying  letters  to 
Versailles,  and  bringing  back  those  for  Paris.  These 
firms  were  only  to  carry  prepaid  letters.  In  consequence 
of  selling  many  postage  stamps,  they  procured  in  Paris 
stamps  on  which  they  were  allowed  a  discount  of  one  per 
cent,  but  they  sold  to  their  clients  the  stamps  from 
Versailles  on  which  they  had  obtained  no  discount. 

It  will  be  easily  understood  that  with  such  a  system, 
the  receipts  must  necessarily  sensibly  diminish.  Thus, 
offices  which  at  the  debut  of  the  Commune,  sold  a 
hundred  francs'  worth  of  stamps  per  day,  in  a  short  time 
after  sold  only  40  francs.  In  most  of  the  offices  the  sale 
fell  to  a  ridiculously  low  figure. 

The  postal  council  was  called  together,  consisting  of  a 
dozen  members,  in  order  to  find  a  mode  of  preventing 
fraud  ;  and  it  was  decided  that  inspectox-s  should  be 
appointed,  charged  with  the  duty  of  visiting  the  tobacco 
shops  and  postal  agents.  These  inspectors  went  to  work 
the  next  morning,  and  presented  themselves  everywhere. 
Everywhere  perforated  stamps  were  shown  them,  but 
hardly  were  their  backs  turned,  than  the  sale  of  the 
imperforated  ones  recommenced. 

This  information  is  at  variance  with  all  we 
know  respecting  the  history  of  the  French 
postage  stamps  during  the  Commune.  Its 
writer,  though  engaged  in  the  Parisian  post- 
office,  appears  to  ignore  the  fact  that  the 
unperforated  stamps  were  printed  at  Bor- 
deaux soon  after  the  Prussian  investment  of 
the  capital ;  yet,  when  that  investment  ceased, 
a  vast  number  of  letters  from  the  depart- 
ments, all  prepaid  with  the  unperforated 
stamps,  must  have  passed  through  the  chief 
office,  under  his  eyes.  Furthermore,  though 
we  cannot  tax  our  memory  so  far  as  to 
declare  positively  that  perforated  stamps 
were  used  at  Versailles  during  the  insurrec- 
tion, we  are  very  much  inclined  to  believe 
that  such  was  the  case  ;  and  we  do  know 
that  from  about  tlie  end  of  March,  the  use 
of  the  unperforated  stamps  gradually  de- 
clined everywhere.  In  proof  of  this  we 
may  mention  that  in  our  May  number  (1871), 
the  fact  of  the  distribution  of  a  supply  of 
perforated  20  centime  stamps  to  the  pro- 
vincial offices  is  noticed. 

Soon  after  the  re-opening  of  Paris  in 
February,  the  employment  of  the  old  stamps 
with  effigy  of  the  Emperor,  recommenced. 
In  our  April  number  (which  went  to  press 
just  after  the  outbreak  of  the  18th  March) 
it  is  stated  that  "  nearly  all  the  letters  which 
arrived  in  the  departments  were  franked 
with  the  old  imperial  labels."  Now,  this 
and  other  statements  were  made  on  the 
authority  of  a  constant  contributor  to  these 
pages, — a  resident  in   France, — who  is  em- 


62 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


ployed  in  a  large  commercial  house  which 
has  correspondents  in  all  parts  of  that 
country  ;  they  may,  therefore,  be  implicitly 
depended  on.  and  we  specially  refer  to  him, 
because,  with  respect  to  this  very  question 
of  the  issue  of  stamps  by  the  Commune, 
he  is  well  able  to  supply  valuable  negative 
proof. 

Towards  the  end  of  April,  he  heard  a 
rumour  to  the  effect  that  the  Commune  had 
issued  stamps  which  alone  would  be  accepted 
in  payment  of  the  local  Parisian  rate,  and 
he  at  once  wrote  to  a  gentleman  in  Paris, 
with  whom,  thanks  to  the  help  of  engine- 
drivers,  his  firm  was  in  daily  communication, 
asking  him  if  there  was  any  truth  in  the 
statements.     The  latter  replied  as  follows  : — 

"With  respect  to  postage  stamps ;  tip  to  the  present  time 
I  have  obtained  them  at  the  head  office,  which  is  occupied 
by  the  Commune.  I  have  never  received  any  other  than 
those  bearing  the  Emperor's  profile.  I  went  to-day  to 
inquire  about  the  new  stamps,  and  I  received  for  answer, 
that  none  would  be  issued  until  the  old  stock  was  ex- 
hausted. 

A  notice  is  placarded  up,  that  letters  from  the  depart- 
ments, brought  in  no  matter  how,  and  flung  into  the 
pillar-boxes  for  delivery,  should  be  prepaid  by  a  ten 
centime  stamp  only,  or  otherwise  unpleasant  consequences 
might  follow. 

The  date  of  this  letter  was  the  29th  April, 
and  a  little  more  than  three  weeks  afterwards 
the  insurrection  was  quelled.  It  can  hardly 
have  been  in  these  last  three  weeks  that  new 
stamps  were  issued,  and  indeed,  M.  Lambry, 
in  another  part  of  his  narrative,  leaves  it  to 
be  inferred  that  they  were  in  use  before  the 
30th  April. 

To  account  for  the  existence  of  a  sufficient 
stock  of  imperial  stamps  at  the  Communist 
post-office  is  not  difficult,  if,  as  stated  by 
The  Morning  Post,  the  new  employes  in  Paris, 
prior  to  the  11th  April,  had  been  sent  round 
to  the  tobacco  shops,  to  collect  all  the  stamps 
that  could  be  found  in  them.  Considerable 
quantities  must  have  been  thus  discovered, 
for  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  during  the 
first  siege,  no  imperial  stamps,  so  far  as  we 
know,  were  used,  every  letter  we  have  ever 
seen  from  the  besieged  city  being  prepaid 
with  the  resuscitated  Republican  labels. 
When  the  insurrection  broke  out,  the  post- 
master-general took  off  to  Versailles  all  the 
newly-printed  supply  with  the  effigy  of  the 


republic,  and  the  Commune  was  glad  to  fall 
back  on  the  retailers'  supply  of  imperial 
stamps,  which,  in  consequence  of  the  Repub- 
lican furore,  had  been  held  over  during  the 
Prussian  investment. 

The  asserted  issue  of  new  stamps  becomes, 
however,  less  credible  than  ever.  M.  Lambry 
does  not  simply  say  that  a  fresh  supply  of 
the  old  Republic  stamps  was  printed  off 
from  existing  plates  or  casts.  He  speaks  of 
making  fresh  ones,*  of  finding  engravers,  of 
the  imperfection  of  the  first  plates,  and  of 
the  moderate  success  of  the  later  ones.  But 
if  new  stamps  of  the  1848  type  had  been 
engraved,  certain  striking  differences — the 
result  of  inferior  workmanship — would  show 
themselves,  and  some  variations  in  colour 
would  betray  them;  no  such  stamps,  however, 
have  been  seen,  unless  they  are  the  so-called 
forgeries  to  which  vague  reference  was  made 
last  summer  by  a  Parisian  paper,  in  a  para- 
graph which  we  translated.  At  any  rate, 
they  are  quite  unknown,  and  we  do  not 
expect  them  to  turn  up  now. 

There  is  another  point  which  is  very 
convincing  against  M.  Lambry 's  accuracy. 
He  asserts  that  stamps  of  all  kinds,  from 
one  to  eighty  centimes  were  struck,  and 
further  on  he  puts  forth  the  fact  of  their 
being  perforated,  as  a  reason  for  the  issue  of 
unperforated  stamps  by  the  Versaillists. 
But  no  one  has  ever  seen  perforated  1,  2,  4, 
5,  or  80  centime  stamps  of  the  Republic. 
These  values  exist  only  in  the  Bordeaux 
imperforate  series.  This  pretty  well  settles 
the  matter,  and  further  comment  is  hardly 
necessary.  Still,  we  may  observe  that  the 
absence,  rather  than  the  presence  of  per- 
foration, would  have  been  likely  to  charac- 
terise the  issue  of  stamps  by  the  Commune, 
seeing  that  the  work  of  perforation  is  a  very 
delicate  one,  requiring  such  nice  adjustment 
of  the  machine  and  the  paper  as  the  unskilled 
Communist  workmen  could  hardly  have 
attained. 

How  M.  Lambry  can  have  been  so  misled 
as  to  state  that  stamps  were  printed  and 
issued  by-  the  Commune,  we  cannot  under- 
stand :    that    he    should  do  so    is  one  more 


*  "  On  se  servait  de  ceux-la.  (the  stamps  collected  from 
the  retailers)  tout  en  se  preparant  d'en  frapper  d'autres." 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


63 


proof  of  the  slight  knowledge  which  postal 
employes  possess  of  matters  which  are  not 
within  their  own  immediate  department. 
As  a  contribution  to  postal  lore,  M.  Lambry's 
narrative  is  valueless,  and,  perhaps,  hardly 
worth  the  trouble  of  dissection ;  but  the 
prevention  of  errors  on  the  subject  hereafter, 
will,  we  hope,  result  from  this  examination 
of  the  details  whilst  they  are  fresh  in  the 
memory. 

A  JAPANESE    STATE   PAPER. 

It  is  but  a  few  years  since  the  first  Japanese 
ambassadors  arrived  in  Europe.  Their  coun- 
try had  been  for  many  ages  civilized  after 
the  oriental  fashion,  but  of  all,  or  nearly  all, 
the  ameliorating  innovations  recently  intro- 
duced into  European  life  they  were  ignorant. 
Their  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  the  western 
nations  was  derived  solely  from  the  informa- 
tion disseminated  by  "our  own  repi^esentatives 
on  their  visit  to  the  Japanese  empire  ;  but, 
superficial  as  it  must  necessarily  have  been, 
it  was  sufficient  to  incite  in  them  and  in  their 
sovereign  a  desire  to  learn  more,  and  to 
profit  by  what  they  might  learn.  On  their 
arrival  in  Europe,  as  they  came  across  new 
inventions  and  institutions,  they  carefully 
took  note  of  them,  and  on  their  return  home 
the  Japanese  government  lost  no  time  in 
turning  their  observations  to  some  practical 
benefit. 

Among  the  institutions  of  which  the 
excellence  most  forcibly  struck  them,  that  of 
state  post-offices  and  their  machinery  must 
certainly  be  numbered,  and  the  result  is  now 
shown  in  the  establishment  of  a  regular 
postal  service  in  Japan.  We  recently  had 
the  pleasure  of  chronicling  the  emission  of  a 
series  of  postage  stamps  by  the  government 
as  a  necessary  corollary  to  this  measure,  and 
we  are  now  able  to  place  before  our  readers 
a  translation  of  the  document  in  which  the 
Japanese  council  of  state  informs  the  public 
of  the  postal  facilities  which  it  will  hence- 
forth enjoy.  This  document,  we  may  say 
without  undue  enthusiasm,  is  written  in  a 
truly  noble  spirit,  showing  as  it  does  such  a 
statesmanlike  appreciation  of  the  benefits  of 
inter-communication,  and  such  unprejudiced 
willingness    to  adopt  that  system   whereby 


alone  those  benefits   can  be   secured.     The 
following  is  the  text.* 

The  emission  of  postage  stamps  is  not  an 
isolated  indication  of  progress,  but  one  of  a 
series.  A  railway  is  being  made  several 
hundred  miles  in  length,  and  the  Mikado 
himself  attended  the  opening  of  the  first 
section.  Tramways  are  being  laid  down. 
First  among  foreign  nations,  the  Japanese 
are  following  the  English  example  in  forming 
a  society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 
Animals.  The  government  is  declaring  for 
free  trade,  and  has  resolved,  when  the  treaties 
are  revised  next  year,  to  expunge  the  prohi- 
bition on  the  export  of  rice.  Lastly,  as  a 
necessary  preparation  for  entering  into  com- 
petition for  the  world's  trade,  the  coinage 
has  been  revised,  and,  as  stated  by  a  corres- 
pondent in  our  pages  a  short  time  since,  the 
unit  of  currency  is  the  dollar,  or  rather  a  coin 

*  Copied  verbatim  from  an  English  newspaper,  pub- 
lished in  Japan,  and  obligingly  communicated  to  us  by  a 
correspondent. 

Xotificatiox. 

It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  for  public  and  private 
objects  to  facilitate  as  far  as  possible  communication  by 
post.  Hitherto  this  service  has  been  entirely  left  to 
private  enterprise,  so  that  great  delay  has  frequently 
occurred  in  the  transmission  of  letters.  Sometimes  it  has 
required  more  than  ten  days  for  the  letter  to  arrive  at  a 
distance  of  a  hundred  miles  or  so,  while  in  other  cases 
there  was  the  fear  that  letters  never  reached  their  des- 
tination at  all. 

The  charge  for  letters  required  to  be  forwarded  with 
expedition  has  been  very  high,  and  the  poorer  classes  in 
remote  parts  of  the  country  have  been  entirely  shut  out 
from  mutual  intercourse.  From  the  difficulty  of  learning 
the  condition  of  affairs  and  the  market  prices  of  produce 
in  different  parts,  it  has  often  happened  that  groundless 
rumours  have  been  spread  abroad,  and  the  public  mind  has 
been  misled  thereby. 

The  knowledge  of  these  facts  has  excited  our  profound- 
est  commiseration. 

It  is  therefore  our  intention  gradually  to  inaugurate  a 
general  system  of  posts  on  all  the  high  roads  of  the 
empire,  so  that  there  may  be  intercommunication  of 
thought  between  the  most  remote  points,  and  the  state  of 
affairs  throughout  the  country  be  ascertained  with  ease 
and  quickness,  so  that  all  classes  may  be  able  to  have 
their  letters  forwarded  with  the  greatest  possible  expedi- 
tion. As  an  experiment  only,  posts  will  be  dispatched 
daily  from  Yedo  to  Kioto  in  62  hours,  and  to  Osaka  in  78 
hours,  beginning  from  the  first  day  of  the  3rd  month 
(April  20th).  The  system  will  admit  of  letters  being 
forwarded,  not  only  to  those  places,  but  to  all  the  towns 
on  the  Tokaido,  to  all  villages  within  ten  or  twelve  miles 
of  them,  and  to  the  provinces  of  Ise  and  Mino. 

For  the  information  of  persons  desirous  of  availing 
themselves  of  the  post,  directions  are  given  below. 

First  Month,  1871. 

(Signed),     COUNCIL   OF   STATE. 


64 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


identical  in  value  therewith,  called  the  yan. 
A  supply  of  yan,  half  yan,  and  quarter  yan 
silver  pieces  has  just  been  struck  in  the 
United  States,  bearing  for  design,  on  the 
obverse,  sun  and  rays ;  wreath  below,  three 
flowers  above  ;  on  the  reverse,  the  imperial 
dragon.  Besides  this,  the  Continental  Bank 
Note  Company,  of  New  York,  has  just  com- 
pleted the  engraving  of  plates  for  two  de- 
nominations of  Japanese  paper  money — one 
yan  and  five  yans,  which  latter  event,  we  may 
in  conclusion  say,  points  to  probabilities  with 
regard  to  future  postal  emissions  ;  and  we 
venture  to  predict  that  the  next  series  will  be 
engraved  in  the  United  States,  in  which 
case  we  may  find  the  Newfoundland  stamps 
rivalled  by  their  Japanese  confreres. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

THE    SURCHARGED    INSCRIPTION    ON  THE 
CHARKOFF   LOCAL. 

To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazixe." 
Sir, — I  notice  that  on  page  19  of  the  February  num- 
ber of  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine,  it  is  said  that  the 
black  inscription  in  a  linear  oblong,  placed  diagonally  on 
the  Charkoft'  stamp,  is  a  postmark.     This  you  will  find  is 
not  the  case  ;  I  have  received  several  specimens  that  have 
never  gone  through  the  post,  marked  in  this  manner. 
Hoping  that  this  information  may  be  of  some  use, 
I  am,  Sir,  vour  obedient  servant, 
Forest  Kill.  TV".   J.   H. 


THE  PROVISIONAL  5  c.  STAMPS  OF  CHILI. 
To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sik, — The  provisional  5  c.  stamps  of  Chili  (or, 
in  other  words,  the  half  of  a  10  c.  diagonally  divided) ,  if 
I  mistake  not,  are  mentioned  in  none  of  the  stamp 
catalogues  or  magazines.  Surely  they  are  just  as  worthy  of 
being  collected  as  the  surcharged  stamps  of  other  countries. 

The  principal  cause  of  the  issue  of  these  provisionals 
was  a  scarcity  of  5  c.  stamps  at  one  time, — in  1851  I 
think, — and  up  to  the  present  day  they  have  been  used 
(though  sparingly)  from  time  to  time.  I  shall  explain 
why  it  is  still  necessary  to  use  these  stamps  now-a-davs. 

I  cannot  say  how  things  are  managed  in  England,  but 
in  Chili,  in  every  town  large  enough  to  have  a  regular 
post-office,  there  are  also  a  number  of  agencies,  or 
estancos,  as  they  arc  called  (generally  tobacconists'  shops) 
where  stamps  may  be  bought  in  quantity.  From  these 
the  post-office  supplies  itself ;  but  now  and  again  it 
happens,  through  carelessness,  that  the  small  stock  of 
stamps  is  allowed  to  be  exhausted  before  anyone  thinks 
of  renewing  it.  As  soon  as  this  is  discovered,  somebody 
is  dispatched  in  hot  haste  to  buy  some  stamps,*  and,  after 
ten  minutes  or  so,  generally  returns  with  them.  Some- 
times, however,  it  happens  that  all  the  estancos,  say, 
within  the  radius  of  a  mile  or  so,  have  not  a  single  5  c. 
stamp  on  hand  !  Under  these  circumstances,  the  only 
way   to  get  out  of  the  difficulty  is   by  cutting  a  10  c. 

•  This  is  of  almo«t  daily  occurrence  in  Valparaiso;  people  have  to 
wait  5,  10.  or  even  15  minutes,  before  therein  have  their  letters  stamped. 


stamp  into  two  triangles,  and  valuing  them  at  5  c.  each. 
Though  the  consumption  of  o  c.  stamps  is  far  greater  than 
that  of 'the  other  two  values,  still  they  are  not  kept  in 
proportionate  quantities  (in  the  post-office  of  course)  ;  the 
former  are  exhausted  before,  perhaps,  one-eighth  part  of 
the  others  is  sold. 


Valparaiso. 


L.  W.  M. 


THE  INSCRIPTION  ON  THE    DECCAN    STAMPS. 

To  the  Editor  of  "Tr-e  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — From  time  to  time  the  readers  of  the 
philatelical  magazines  have  perused  the  latest  intelligence 
with  regard  to  the  stamps  of  the  Deccan ;  and  in"  The 
Stamp-Collector's  Magazine,  vol.  ix.,  page  122,  under  the 
head  of  "A  Batch  of  Novelties,"  Mr.  Pemberton  de- 
scribes these  stamps,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  makes  up  for 
his  defective  acquaintance  with  the  Sanscrit,  Persi- 
Arabic,  and  Persian  languages  by  his  knowledge  of  phi- 
latelical matters.  Perhaps  he*  will  not  object  to  my 
pointing  out  a  few  inaccuiacies  in  his  paper. 

Introduced  into  the  centre  of  his  lists  of  the  Deccan 
stamps  is  the  following  : — "In  each  value  the  frame  and 

!    ground- work  differ  slightly ;   the  centre  inscription  (in 

I    Persian  characters)  is  on  a  different  ground  in  each." 

For  the  benefit  of  such  collectors  as  are  interested  in 
the  Deccan  postage  stamps.  I  am  able  to  put  before  them 
the  following  facts : — Of  the  inscription  on  the  8  annas 

1    stamp  (an  engraving  of  which  has  been  given  at  vol.  9, 

|  p.  122),  the  words  not  in  English  are  entirely  in  Persi- 
Arabic  characters.  On  the  top  of  the  stamp  the  reading 
is  post  stamp,  in  English  characters;  underneath  is 
post  stamp,  in  Persi-Arabic  characters. 

The  centre-piece  was  so  indistinct  (being  printed  black 
on  a  dark  ground)  that  it  was  illegible,  although  minutely 
studied  through  a  powerful  microscope.  A  mistake  was 
also  made  in  the  right  character  of  the  centre-piece,  which 

I    did  not  render  it  more  distinct. 

The  left-hand  piece,  just  below  the  centre  circle,  is  8 

I    annas,  in  English;   and  on  the   ri.dit   hand,  in   Peisi- 

.  Arabic,  is  the  word  sonat,  pronounced  sonof,  the  literal 
meaning   of  which  is  pure,  unalloyed.       No    word    in 

I  English  could  be  accurately  used  in  translating  it,  except 
"  sterling."  Below,  the  inscription  is  also  in  Persi- 
Arabic.  and  although  there  was  much  difficulty  in  making 
it  out  (owing  to  some  mistake  in  the  printing),  it  is  sup- 

|  posed  to  be  post  stamp  or  postage  stamf  .  The  reason  for 
the  difference  in  the  character  of  the  upper  inscriptions 
and  the  lower  is,  that  the  upper  is  printed  iu  full,  while 
the   lower   is    in    what    is    termed    the    sA'kus'u    (pro- 

;  nounced  shikustar),  hand,  or  the  broken  hand.  This  pe- 
culiar style  of  writing  does  not  exactly  correspond  to  our 
short-hand. 

During  the  Indian  mutiny  the  letters  which  were  writ- 
ten by  the  native  allies  to  the  British  officers  were  nearly 

:  always  (for  the  sake  of  brevity  and  celerity)  written  in 
the  shikustii  hand  ;  and  the  officers,  not  all  of  them  then 
being  acquainted  with  this  peculiar  hand,  weie  put  to 
much  inconvenience,  and  obliged  to  take  into  their  pay 
natives  who  understood  the  writing.  In  Persi-Arabic 
there  are  no  vowels,  and,  therefore,  it  is  very  difficult  in 
writing  the  language  to  give  a  good  translation,  with 
the  proper  signs,  &c,  still  retained  in  the  Persi-Arabic 
dialect. 

The  Deccan  stamps  termed  "the  skeleton  issue"  are 
much  more  roughly  executed;    altogether  so   much   so, 
that   only   a   small  portion   of  the   stamp  could  be  de- 
ciphered" and  that  not  with  any  degree  of  accuracy. 
Yours  obediently, 
Suxmundham.  F.    CAVELL. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


65 


OUR   CONTEMPORARIES. 

The  American  Journal  of  Philately. — The  last; 
two  numbers  are  better  than  their  immediate 
predecessors.  The  one  for  March  is  prin- 
cipally remarkable  for  the  notice  it  contains 
of  a  Confederate  local,  of  which  the  only 
known  specimen  was  recently  discovered  by 
Mr.  Scott  in  Mr.  Philbrick's  unrivalled  col- 
lection. It  was  issued  at  Madison,  Florida, 
early  in  January,  1801,  and,  therefore,  con- 
siderably before  the  actual  outbreak  of 
hostilities ;  its  issue,  however,  arose  out  of 
circumstances  connected  with  the  then  tone 
of  feeling  between  north  and  south,  as  the 
postmaster,  by  whom  the  stamp  was  made — 
a  Mr.  E.  J.  Perry — has  lucidly  explained  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Scott.  Small  change  became 
scarce  at  that  period,  and  the  stock  of  United 
States  stamps  was  also  exhausted.  Mr.  Perry, 
who  had  Confederate  leanings,  was  loath  to 
apply  for  a  fresh  supply  of  stamps,  and  pre- 
ferred to  issue  the  stamp  in  question  "  for 
the  purpose  of  making  change."  They  were 
"  sold  in  quantities  to  the  business  part  of  the 
community,"  and,  says  the  postmaster,  "any 
letter  found  in  the  letter-box  with  my  stamp 
on  it  had  evidence  of  having  been  paid  for,  and 
was  accordingly  stamped,  'paid  in  money,' 
in  accordance  with  the  laws  regulating  the 
United  States  post-offices,  and  charged  as 
paid  in  money  in  the  way  bills  forwarded  to 
the  distributing  offices."  The  stamp  was 
truly  a  postage  stamp,  but  only  in  a  limited 
sense ;  it  was  evidence  of  prepayment  to  the 
receiving  postmaster,  but  not  to  the  dis- 
tributing office,  which  was  guided  only  by 
the  handstamp  "  Paid."  In  this  respect  it 
resembled  the  stamps  on  letters  from  one 
country  to  another.  The  delivering  office 
does  not  take  any  account  of  the  stamps  on 
them,  which  may  either  overpay  or  underpay 
the  letter ;  but  if  the  magic  letters,  pd., 
signifying  "  paid,"  are  on  them,  they  are 
delivered,  even  though  they  bear  no  stamp 
at  all. 

The  Madison  stamp  caused  a  certain  ex- 
citement in  the  northern  states  when  it  was 
noticed  on  letters  from  that  town,  and  it 
formed  the  subject  of  an  article  in  the  New 
York  Herald,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
postal  department  sent  an  official  to  Madison 

VOL.  X.    No.  112. 


to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  its  emission.  It 
is  exceedingly  unpretentious  in  design,  con- 
sisting, as  it  does,  only  of  a  tran verse  oblong 
frame  composed  of  fourteen  type-set  rose 
ornaments,  within  which  is  the  value,  3,  on 
the  top  line,  and  cents  on  the  second.  In 
the  single  known  copy  the  word  cents  is 
misprinted  cnets.  The  impression  is  in 
dark  bronze,  probably  originally  yellow- 
bronze,  or  gold,  on  blue  wove  foolscap  writing 
paper.  Mr.  Scott  justly  characterises  it  as 
the  "  first  issued,  best  authenticated,  and 
scarcest  Confederate  provisional." 

In  the  March  number  the  only  other  pro- 
minent article  is  that  on  the  New  Granadine 
stamps,  which  gives  great  promise.  In  the 
article  on  newly-issued  stamps,  two  errors 
in  illustration  occur;  the  current  La  Guaira, 
with  J.  A.  J.  and  z.  in  centre,  is  given  as  the 
design  of  the  Western  Australian  threepenny, 
and  the  cut  of  the  10  para  Egyptian  is 
printed  in  a  rough  approximation  to  the 
colour  of  the  5  paras. 

The  April  number  contains  no  original 
matter  of  a  very  interesting  nature,  unless 
the  illustrated  description  of  two  doubtful 
Confederate  local  types — Athens,  Ga.,  and 
type-printed  Macon — can  be  so  considered. 
The  "  Reviews  of  Philatelic  Publications  " 
are  too  brief;  the  sneer  at  Mr.  Pemberton's 
commendation  of  his  own  writings  comes 
with  doubtful  grace  from  a  journal  which 
has  frequently  and  unblushingly  extolled  the 
contributions  which  have  filled  its  pages  ;  and 
the  objection  that  none  of  the  stamp  journals 
gave  notice  in  advance  of  Mr.  Scott's  auction 
sale  of  stamps,  is  refreshing;  we  are  not 
aware  that  any  of  the  publishers  of  any 
stamp  magazine  are  in  the  habit  of  inserting 
the  advertisements  of  other  dealers  gratis. 

Le  Timbre-Poste  for  March  contains  a  short 
but  interesting  article,  copied  from  a  German 
paper,  on  the  Japanese  numerals.  From  the 
manner  in  which  the  characters  are  arranged, 
the  editor  deduces  that  the  stamps  should  be 
mounted  with  the  dragons'  heads  downwards, 
the  entwined  and  contorted  tails  forming  the 
top  of  the  desigu.  The  remaining  contents 
are  not  specially  remarkable,  and  the  wit  of 
the  narrative  entitled  "In  Search  of  a  Postage 
Stamp"  is  hidden.  The  April  number  is  fully 
occupied  by  the  "  Chronicle,"  and  a  further 


66 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


instalment  of  Dr.  Magnus's  inonoorraph  on 
envelope  stamps.  In  the  former  article 
we  observe  that  the  editor  states  he  expects 
to  be  able  to  prove  that  "  all  the  authentic 
details.'*  furnished  to  us  by  M.  Panopoulo, 
relative  to  the  Morton  stamps.  ':  are  but  a 
pure  invention  on  his  (M.  P."s)  part/''  The 
accusation  thus  made  is  a  serious  one,  and  if 
not  thoroughly  supported  by  facts,  the  jour- 
nal which  makes  it  will  certainly  fall  into 
the  utmost  discredit.  TVe  hope  it  is  not 
true,  and  are  divided  between  onr  confidence 
in  M.  Panopoulo,  who  has  been  known  to 
our  publishers  for  years,  and  the  painful 
doubt  which  so  positive  a  charge,  coming 
from  a  respectable  organ,  is  naturally  calcu^ 
lated  to  create. 

Philatelist. — The  March  number  con- 
tains the  first  article  ou  telegraph  stamps 
which  has  appeared  in  the  English  philatelic 
press.  It  is  continned  in  the  April  number, 
and  the  first  instalment  of  a  catalogue  of 
telegraphic  emissions  is  given  in  the  latter. 
The  stamps  mentioned  are  decidedly  not  of  a 
very  interesting  character,  and  we  should 
not  care  about  going  out  of  our  wav  to 
obtain  them,  preferring  to  reserve  a  cordial 
reception  for  the  government  labels. 

In  the  Spud  papers  the  forgeries  of  British 
Guiana.  1  860,  Turks  Islands.  Spanish  Official, 
and  Chili  are  treated  of.  Eor  the  first  named, 
the  inscription  KETiMUSQCE  (instead  of  peti- 
iJUSQCE)  indicates  a  forgery  ;  in  the  third,  the 
absence  of  the  pomegranate  from  the  front 
of  the  shield  is  condemnatory  ;  the  other 
two  are  such  inferior  imitations  that,  like 
vice,  they  ;*to  be  hated  need  but  to  be  seen/' 

Mr.  Atlee  commences  in  the  March  num- 
ber an  article  entitled,  "Notes  on  Postmarks 
as  Aids  to  the  Detection  of  Forgeries,"  but  we 
fear  that,  with  all  his  known  ability,  he  will 
find  it  difficult  to  enliven  so  dull  a  subject, 
and  we  doubt  the  possibility  of  its  being 
treated  in  a  practically  useful  way  for 
detective  purposes.  In  order  that  a  list  of 
postmarks  may  be  of  real  assistance,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  describe  and  engrave  every 
•mark,  and  to  be  able  to  affirm  that  every 
postmark  is  described,  otherwise  the  notice 
of  some  and  the  emission  of  others,  may 
ve  a  stumbling-block  to  beginners.  If 
thi.i  cannot  be  done— and  we  do  not  think  it 


can  be — it  would  be  well  to  give  the  work  a 
more  modest  scope,  and  notice  only  the  forged 
obliterations,  pointing  out  in  what  particulars 
they  differ  from  the  genuine. 

In  the  i:  Correspondence"  of  the  two  num- 
bers the  postal  value  of  the  Egyptian  officials 
is  commented  on.  Their  exact  position  is 
easily  fixed  by  a  reference  to  the  practice  of 
the  Italian  post-office,  on  whose  system  that 
of  the  Egyptian  postal  service  is  based,  the 
head  of  the  Egyptian  office  being  an  Italian, 
and  its  official  documents  being  in  his  lan- 
guage. In  Italv  circular  labels  have  long: 
been  in  use,  and  are  put  on  the  mail-bags 
after  they  are  made  up,  and  probably  on 
official  documents.  For  a  full  description  of 
them,  we  refer  our  readers  to  p.  71  of  our 
fourth  volume,  in  which  also  will  be  found 
an  engraving  of  the  type  then — but,  as  we 

'  now  think,  incorrectly — supposed  to  be  the 
one  adopted.  TTe  believe  the  design  now  in 
use  bears  only  the  words  ammixisteaz:::-! 
I'ELLE  poste  irALTANE,  in  a  plain  circle.  The 
Egyptian  labels  seem,  like  the  Italian,  to  be 

i  something  less  than  postage  stamps,  and 
more  than  office  wafers.  Found  on  a  letter 
or  packet,  they  are  the  most  visible  proof  of 
its  official  origin,  like  the  words.  "  On  Her 
Majesty's  Service,"  on  our  own  official  en- 
velopes :  but,  like  these  latter,  they  are  pro- 
bably accompanied  by  some  stamp  or  signa- 
ture, which  alone  carries  with  it  the  franking 
power. 

The  Philatelical  Journal. — Both  the  March 
and  April  numbers  are  replete  with  readable 
matter,  and  the  latter  exceeds  by  four  pages 
its  usual  dimensions.  In  the  ';  Cream  of  the 
Magazines  ;;  we  find  nothing  particular  to 
report  on,  except  the  editor's  objection  to 
the  continued  notice  in  our  columns  of  in- 
verted watermarks, — which,  in  duty  to  our- 
selves, we  must  say  is  due  to  our  respect  for 
our  correspondents*  opinions  and  studies, — ■ 
and  his  mystification  as  to  the  true  design 
of  the  Chilian  post  card,  owing  to  the  widely 
differing  engravings  in  our  own  and  the 
Brighton  journal.  That  he  may  be  in  no 
further  doubt,  we  beg  to  say  that  we  delayed 
the  publication  of  our  February  number,  to 
_  e  our  printer  time  to  procure  from  an 
linoargh    type-founder    the    border-pieces 

i   necessary   for  the  setting   of  the  card,  and 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


67 


our  representation  is,  consequently,  almost 
literally  a  facsimile  of  the  original. 

The  continuation  of  Mr.  Atlee's  article  on 
the  Hawaiian  stamps  is  highly  instructive, 
and  we  shall  have  occasion,  in  another  part 
of  the  number,  to  refer  to  his  opinion  on  the 
copies  marked  "  specimen,"  Following  Mr. 
Atlee's  paper  comes  a  short  notice,  by  Senor 
M.  P.  de  Figueroa,  of  a  hitherto  "  unchron- 
icled  Spanish  stamp" — a  label  prepared  by 
a  certain  Senor  Castell,  author  of  a  work 
intended  to  teach,  in  an  accurate  manner, 
the  writing  of  addresses  of  letters.  This 
pamphlet  was  approved  of  by  the  late  queen 
as  a  work  of  public  utility,  and  the  post- 
master-general ordered  it  to  be  sent  to  all 
the  primary  schools  in  Spain.  Subsequently, 
in  consideration  of  its  value,  the  privilege  of 
free  transmission  through  the  post  for  six 
months  was  accorded  to  Senor  Castell,  who, 
to  avail  himself  of  it,  printed  a  stamp  bearing 
the  title  of  his  work, — cartilla  postal  de 
espana  in  an  oval  frame,  enclosing  the  repre- 
sentation of  an  envelope,  the  whole  on  a 
ground  of  upright  lines,  and  printed  in  black 
on  rather  dark  blue  paper. 

"  The  Lithographed  Series  of  the  French 
Republic  "  is  the  title  of  a  very  interesting 
paper,  by  "A  Parisian  Collector,"  in  which 
three  types  of  the  Bordeaux  20  c.  blue  are 
specified;  the  first, a  very  coarse  impression, is 
distinguishable  from  the  fact,  that  the  top  of 
the  circular  pearl  border  is  nearly  the  six- 
teenth-of-an-inch from  theexternal frame;  the 
second  and  commonest  type  is  better  drawn, 
and  in  the  frame  on  the  left  upper  side,  there 
are  "  four  etruscan  frets,  and  the  commence- 
ment of  a  fifth  ;  "  in  the  third  type  the  com- 
mencement of  the  fifth  is  wanting.  These  are 
the  most  prominent  characteristics  of  three 
different  drawings  of  the  same  design.  The 
first  type,  and  ultramarine  copies  of  the 
second  and  third,  are  the  rarest,  and  "  an 
unobliterated  copy  is  worth  something  more 
than  its  weight  in  gold." 

"Our  Black  List"  exposes  the  dealings  of 
Mr.  Zechmeyer,  of  Niirnberg  ;  Messrs.  Gold- 
ney  &  Wilts,  and  Charles  &  Lewis,  of  Stroud, 
and  a  batch  of  Glasgow  innocents,  to  whom 
we  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  referring  in 
our  next. 

In  the  article  on  "  Novelties, "  the  Falk- 


land Islands  stamp  is  given  as  one  of  them  ; 
but  if  the  editor  will  turn  to  The  Stamp- 
Collector's  Magazine,  vol.  ix.,  p.  120,  he  will 
find  the  type  described  and  figured  there. 

The  reviewer  of  philatelical  publications 
calls  attention  to  the  practice  of  guaran- 
teeing the  American  local  reprints  and  for- 
geries as  genuine.  Our  own  publishers, 
whilst  they  have  hitherto  relied  on  the  re- 
peated, we  might  almost  say  continual,  ex- 
posure in  this  journal  of  the  true  value  of 
such  labels  as  indicating,  that  if  they  offered 
them  for  sale  at  all,  it  w^as  only  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  collectors  who  are  de- 
sirous of  cheaply  filling  the  spaces  allotted 
in  various  stamp  albums  for  these  locals 
— have  decided  on  adding  an  explicit  state- 
ment at  the  foot  of  their  future  advertisements 
of  such  stamps  to  the  effect,  that  the  labels 
sold  under  the  title  of  American  and  Ham- 
burg locals  are  not  boua-fide  stamps. 

The  April  number  of  our  Birmingham  con- 
frere contains  a  good  article  on  the  Peters- 
burg (Virginia)  stamp,  and  exposes  an  at- 
tempt recently  made  to  palm  off  an  imita- 
tion as  being  a  third  type  of  the  rare  original. 
The  counterfeit  specimens,  seven  in  num- 
ber, which  have  been  under  examination,  are 
attached  to  the  letters  on  which  they  were 
supposed  to  have  passed  through  the  post, 
but  the  seven  letters,  ostensibly  from  (in  all) 
three  different  firms,  turn  out,  upon  close  in- 
spection, to  be  all  in  one  and  the  same  hand- 
writing !  We  have  not  space  to  go  into  the 
details,  but  the  result  of  the  investigation  is 
to  render  the  fraud  very  apparent,  and  the 
writer  of  the  article  deserves  great  credit  for 
the  sagacity  he  has  shown  in  unmasking  it. 

The  remaining  contents  are,  "  To  be  Sold 
by  Auction  " — a  commentary  on  the  recent 
sale;  the  completion  of  the  Rev.  R.  B.  EareVs 
instructive  article  on  the  "  Stamps  of  La 
Guaira;"  "Californian  Locals" — a  list  of  new 
discoveries,  consisting  of  information  of  an 
"  essential"  character  which  requires  a  little 
dilution  to  make  it  readable  ;  "  Novelties  ;" 
"Bogus  Novelties  ; "  "  The  Turkish  Stamps  " 
— a  very  lucid  monograph,  by  "  A  Parisian 
Collector  ;  "  "  The  Stamps  of  Trinidad  "— 
•composed  principally  of  a  much  required 
reference  list  to  the  stamps  of  this  colony; 
"Our  Black  List;"   "Facetiae  Philatelicse," 


63 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


which  does  not  improve  much;  "Reviews" 
and  "Correspondence."  From  the  Trinidad 
article  we  extract  the  following  reference  to 
the  "Too-Late"  stamps:— 

All  the  stamps  of  the  present  issue  are  to  be  found  with 
the  words  too  late  surcharged  in  black  or  red  ink  across 
the  stamp,  and  sometimes  with  it  twice,  so  as  to  form  a 
kind  of  cross.  As  we  believe  few  collectors  hold  the  same 
opinion  about  these  stamps,  we  will  give  ours,  Avhich, 
we  think,  will  settle  the  matter.  The  theory  that  the 
Avords  surcharged  are  simply  a  postmark  is  wrong.  We 
have  seen  whole  sheets  of  some  of  the  values  so  surcharged 
perfectly  new,  and  with  gum  at  the  back.  _  The  five- 
shilling  stamps  are  to  be  purchased  in  the  island  sur- 
charged for  sixpence,  which  is  the  rate  charged  for  too 
late  letters.  "We  therefore  suppose  that  tbose  values  are 
surchai-ged  from  time  to  time  of  which  they  have  most  in 
stock,  and  that  once  so  surcharged  they  are  sold  at  a  uni- 
form rate  irrespective  of  their  facial  value.  Thus  the 
too-late  stamps  really  do  prepay  too -late  letters. 

Does  not  the  writer  mean  to  say  that  the 
sixpence  is  the  fee  or  fine  charged  in  addition 
to  the  postage  on  too  late  letters  ? 


PAPERS  FOR  BEGINNERS.— No.  XIX. 

BY   OVEItY   TAYLOR. 
EUROPE, 

THE   DAKUBIAN   PRINCIPALITIES^ 

glolrjafe. 

{Continued  from  page  56.) 
FIRST  SERIES. 
Addendum. — In  the  preceding  paper  I  re- 
frained from  attempting  to  decide  which  of 
Dr.  Magnns's  five  types  were  the  genuine, 
because  the  decision  would  be  attended  with 
comparatively  slight  practical  result ;  but 
for  the  benefit  of  collectors,  who  may  desire 
to  have  information  on  this  point,  I  may 
mention  that  the  weight  of  opinion  is  in  fa- 
vour of  the  genuineness  of  the  stamps  of  the 
first  types  on  laid  paper.  Of  this  type  and 
paper  three  values  are  known,  viz.,  the  27, 
54,  and  108  paras:  the  81  paras  has  still  to 
be  discovered.  This  is  the  verdict  of  Mr. 
Philbrick,  of  "  A  Parisian  Collector,"  and 
other  authorities,  in  which  I  beg  leave  to 
concur. 

SECOND  SERIES. 
We  have  seen  that  the  first  series  of  stamps 
was  issued  in  consequence  of  the  adoption 
of  a  complicated  system  of  rates,  under 
which  the  postage  was  to  be  ascertained 
according,  not  only  to  weight,  bat  to  distance. 


It  was  no  sooner  put  in  force  than  it  was 
found  to  work  very  unsatisfactorily.  It 
gave  the  maximum  of  trouble  to  the  public 
and  the  officials,  combined  with  the  minimum 
of  benefit.  On  the  17th  September,  1858,  a 
memorial  setting  forth  its  disadvantages  was 
addressed  to  the  Administrative  Council,  by 
the  finance  minister,  J.  A.  Cantacuzin — 
(probably  a  relative  of  Prince  Demetrius,  by 
whom  the  first  investigation  into  the  postal 
system  was  made),  Minister  Balche,  whose 
name  figures  below  the  decrees  relating  to 
the  first  series,  having  meanwhile  retired 
from  office.  Mr.  J.  A.  Cantacuzin,  in  this 
document,  of  which  the  translation  is  sub- 
joined, recommends  the  introduction  of  a  rate, 
independent  alike  of  weight  and  distance, 
to  be  fixed  at  40  paras  for  ordinary,  and  80 
paras  for,  as  I  understand  it,  registered 
letters.  This  would  seem  an  odd  arrange- 
ment in  a  more  civilised  country,  where 
advantage  would  be  taken  of  a  uniform 
tax  on  all  ordinary  letters,  irrespective  of 
weight,  to  send  through  the  post  bulky  com- 
munications of  inconvenient  size  ;  but  the 
Moldavian  finance  minister,  who  would  seem 
to  have  foreseen  the  possibility  of  an  ob- 
jection of  this  kind  to  bis  proposal,  says,  in 
the  Minute  in  question,  that  there  is  very 
little  difference  in  the  weight  of  letters, 
herein  evidently  relying  on  the  primitive 
habits  of  correspondence  among  the  Mol- 
davians. 

The  approval  of  the  proposition  of  the 
finance  minister  by  the  Administrative 
Council,  is  signified  by  Minute  No.  4288, 
addressed  to  the  minister  by  the  secretary  of 
state,  and  the  1st  November,  1858,  is  thereby 
fixed  as  the  date  of  emission  of  the  new  series. 
Then  follow  two  finance  office  Minutes, 
the  first  requiring  the  stamp  office  superin- 
tendent to  arrange  with  the  postmaster  for 
the  printing  of  20,000  stamps  of  the  same 
design  as  those  to  be  suppressed ;  and  the 
second  addressed  to  the  postmaster  inform- 
ing him  of  the  change  in  the  rates,  and  re- 
questing him  to  take  the  necessary  measures 
with  the  stamp  superintendent  for  the  print- 
ing of  the  above  mentioned  quantity.  The 
reproduction  of  these  documents  is  hardly 
necessary,  but  translations  are  annexed  of 
the  letter  of   18th  October.  1858,  from  the 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTORS  MAGAZINE. 


69 


stamp  superintendent  to  the  finance  minister, 
and  the  minister's  reply  of  the  19th,  which 
together  establish  that  the  20,000  stamps 
ordered  were  to  be  made  up  as  follows : — 

12,000  of  the  40  paras. 

5,000     „       80      „ 
3,000     „         5      „ 

and  that  the  transmission  of  the  dies  was 
accompanied  with  the  usual  formalities. 

The  series  of  documents  is  completed  by 
the  finance  Minute,  No.  10,283,  of  27th 
October,  which  advises  the  postmaster  of 
the  forwarding  to  him  of  a  first  stock  of 
10,816  stamps  of  the  three  values,  and  it  con- 
cludes with  the  following  sentence,  "  Notice 
is  at  the  same  time  giveu  you  that  the 
employe  charged  by  the  minister  with  the  de- 
livery is  Mr.  M.  Figa,  to  whom  the  post-office 
will  please  furnish  a  detailed  account  of  the 
stamps  previously  received,  and  hand  over 
such  old  stamps  as  may  remain,1' — a  re- 
quest which,  I  may  parenthetically  remark, 
strengthens  the  arguments  used  in  my  last 
paper  in  reference  to  the  return  into  stock 
of  all  unemployed  stamps  of  the  first  series. 

The  documents  which  treat  of  the  second 
series  have  not  the  same  importance  as  those 
relating  to  the  first,  inasmuch  as  there  are 
fewer  doubtful  points  connected  with  the 
second.  There  is  only  one  thing  to  which  it 
is  worth  while  to  call  attention,  and  that  is 
the  absence  of  any  direct  authorization  of  the 
issue  of  the  5  para  stamp.  In  the  finance 
minister's  report  of  the  17th  September,  he 
does,  it  is  true,  say  that  as  a  luatter  of  course 
the  new  letter  rates  will  not  affect  the  charge 
for  packets,  which  latter  "  will  continue  to 
be  subjected  to  the  tariff  established  by  the 
regulations  now  in  force;"  but  that  is  all. 
In  his  minutes  of  the  13th  October,  he  only 
speaks  of  40  and  80  para  stamps  ;  and  it  is 
not  until  we  get  to  the  stamp  superintendent's 
letter  of  the  18th  October,  that  we  find 
any  mention  of  the  5  para,  and  from  that 
letter  it  would  appear  that  the  issue  of 
stamps  of  this  value  was  decided  on  by  the 
postmaster.  We  cannot  discover  what  were 
"the  regulations  then  in  force"  relative  to 
the  postage  of  journals,  but  we  are  left  to 
assume  that  prior  even  to  the  issue  of  che  first 
series  the  rate  was  5  paras.     This  question, 


however,  is  of  importance  only  from  the 
historical  point  of  view,  and  pending  its 
solution,  it  must  suffice  for  us  to  know  that 
the  5  para  was  issued  together  with  the  40 
and  80  para  stamps  on  the  1st  November, 
1858. 

The  series  continued  in  use  until  the  1st 
January,  1-8G2,  a  period  of  over  three  years. 
We  possess  no  documents  fixing  the  total 
number  of  stamps  issued  during  that  time. 

The  batch  of  official  papers  furnished  to 
Le  Ttmbre-Puste  closes  with  the  issue  of  the 
series,  but  we  cull  the  following  information 
from  the  article  in  which  the  correspondent 
of  the  Belgian  paper  sums  up  the  history  of 
the  early  emissions. 

The  public,  but  little  accustomed  to  the  use  of  stamps, 
j  did  not  more  freely  employ  the  stamps  of  the  second  series 
1  than  those  of  the  first ;  therefore,  there  was  never  anj-  oc- 
casion for  the  issue  of  sub-types.  The  correspondence  was 
for  the  greater  part  confided  to  the  Russian  and  Austrian 
postal  services,  established  at  the  respective  consulates  of 
these  states,  and  carrying  even  the  internal  correspondence 
of  the  country.  Prepayment  was  effected  either  in  money 
or  by  means  of  Russian  or  Austrian  stamps. 

A  careful  consideration  of  all  the  facts 
will  show  that  this  correspondent's  assertion, 
that  no  sub-types  were  made — in  other  words, 
that  the  designs  were  not  re-engraved — has 
much  in  its  favour.  Assuming  that  the 
stamps  of  the  second  series  were  not  more 
freely  used  than  those  of  the  first,  the  number 
employed  would  be  about  40,000  per  annum, 
or  120,000  in  all,  which  we  might  roughly 
subdivide  into  60,000  of  the  40  paras,  40,000 
of  the  80  paras,  and  20,000  of  the  5  paras. 
This  would  not  be  an  extravagant  number 
to  produce  from  metallic  dies,  especially  if 
it  be  considered  that  the  impression  was  by 
hand  and  not  by  machine,  and,  therefore, 
much  less  forcible.  Still  the  possibility  of 
the  designs  having  been  re-engraved  certainly 
exists,  and  must  be  taken  into  account  in  the 
attempt  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  value  of 
the  known  types.  These,  as  defined  by  Dr. 
Magnus,  are  four  in  number,  and  as  it  is  by 
no  means  unlikely  that  many  of  my  readers 
may  possess  or  receive  the  offer  of  stamps  of 
this  series,  it  is  worth  while  to  discuss  the 
four  types  more  or  less  in  detail.  Before 
doing  so,  I  must  take  leave  to  acknowledge  my 
obligations  to  the  accomplished  philatelist, 
known  to  the  public  by  the  modest  nom  de 
plume   of  "A  Parisian  Collector,"   who,   by 


70 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


5  HAP 


the  information  and  specimens  he  has  kindly 
sent  me,  has  materially  aided  and  guided  me 
in  the  study  of  these  stamps. 

Of  the  first  type  the  annexed  engravings, 
which  originally  illustrated  Dr.  Magnus's 
paper,  are  rough  represen- 
tations. The  noticeable  point 
in  connection  with  the  5  paras 
is,  that  the  horns  are 
upright.  The  most  distinctive 
feature  of  the  other  two 
stamps  is,  that  the  star  on 
each  is  six-pointed,  large,  and  tolerably  regular, 
coupled  with  the  fact  that  the  paper  on 
which  they  are  printed  is  thin  pelure,  white 
or  bluish.  This  type  is  unquestionably  gen- 
uine. There  are  many  known  copies,  all  bear- 
ing orthodox  obliterations.  These  latter,  it 
may  here  be  mentioned,  are  of  different 
shapes — round,  with  date  in  centre,  the  name 
of  the  town  in  upper  half,  and  Moldavia  in 
the  lower  :  round,  with  FRANCO  above,  name 
of  town  below,  and  an  ornamental  bar  across 
the  middle  :  oblong,  with  a  pointed  projection 
at  ends,  FRANCO  in  upper,  and  name  of  town 
in  lower  half;  and  oval,  with  tlie  same  dis- 
position of  the 
lettering,  and 

':2no "  in 

the  middle. 
There  is  one 
peculiarity  no- 
ticeable in  all, 
that  is.  that  the  name  of  the  town  always 
appears,  whilst  the  obliterations  on  the 
doubtful  types  of  this  and  the  first  series, 
bear  the  word  franco  only. 

The  second  type  of  the  5  paras  is  peculiar 
to  that  value.  Like  the  first  it  Las  a  six- 
nointed  star,  but  it  will  be  no- 
ticed that  the  horns,  instead 
of  being  nearly  upright,  are 
strongly  carved.  This  is  the 
feature  to  be  borne  in  mind  for 
purposes  of  comparison.  The 
genuineness  of  this  type  is  exceedingly 
doubtful,  and  I  shall  not  be  far  out  in 
pronouncing  it  to  be  a  forgery.  It  is. 
however,  one  of  the  small  class  of  dangerous 
imitations,  and  in  this  it  differs  from  the 
40  and  80  paras,  hereafter  to  be  noticed. 
Except  that  there  is  a  somewhat  suspicious 


f  80ITAP 


l  80IIAP   > 


^# 


clearness  in  the  printing  as  contrasted  with 
the  genuine,  there  is  very  little  indeed  in  its 
appearance  to  raise  a  doubt  in  the  mind  of 
an  inexperienced  collector.  Our  engravings, 
in  which  prominence  is  given  to  the  salient 
point,  the  shape  of  the  horns,  should  render 
detection  easy. 

The  second  type  of  the  40  and  80  paras  is 
shared  by  the  two  values.  Representations 
of  the  arms  are  annexed. 
The  most  noticeable 
characteristic  is  the  jice- 
pointed  star.  Oblite- 
rated copies  of  this  type 
are  not  known,  and  this 
is  a  most  suspicious  circumstance,  tending 
strongly  to  show  that  the  unused  specimens, 
like  the  spurious  copies  of  the  first  series, 
were  made  for  sale  to  collectors  only  ;  for  it 
is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  if  genuine, 
used  copies  of  at  least  one  of  the  values 
would  be  forthcoming.  This  type  is  con- 
sequently regarded  as  of  very  questionable 
value. 

The  third  type  is  peculiar  to  the  80  paras. 
The  star  is  six-pointed,  but  small,  and  its 
points  of  difference  from  the  first  type  will 
be  easily  recognised  on  comparison  with  the 
engraving    of  the  same    above  given.     The 


•4 


figures  resemble  those  of  the  first 
type.  Mt*.  Philbrick  possesses  an 
obliterated  copy  of  this  type,  which 
is  perhaps  the  only  one  known. 
He  believes  in  its  genuineness,  and 
the  general  feeling  is  in  favour  of 
the  authenticity  of  this  type,  notwithstand- 
ing the  lack  of  used  copies. 

Of  the  stamps  of  the  fourth  type.  Dr. 
Magnus  says  :  ';  If  they  are  not  proved 
false,  there  is  at  least  a  strong  presumption 
against  their  authenticity  ;  "  and  this  dictum 
on  the  part  of  the  learned  doctor  has  never 
been  contested.  The  star  on  this  fourth 
type  is  six-pointed  ;  but,  whereas  in  the  first 
type  the  word  scrisorei  commences  and  ter- 
minates at  an  equal  distance  from  the  border 
(3  mill.),  in  this  fourth  type  it  commences 
at  H  mill.,  and  terminates  at  3  mill;  more- 
over, the  paper  of  this  latter  "is  not  the 
same  as  for  the  other  types,  but  opaque, 
thicker,  and  showing  some  traces  of  being 
laid."     Placed   beside   the  genuine    stamps, 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


71 


the  forged  are  immediately  condemned. 
They  do  not  resemble  the  germine  in  colour, 
paper,  nor  even  in  size ;  but  bear  on  their 
faces  that  suspicious  look  which  is  so  notice- 
able in  most  spurious  productions. 

Thus,  then,  the  opinion  of  competent 
judges  may  be  summed  up  as  follows  : — 1st 
type,  genuine  ;  2nd  type,  probably  false  ;  3rd 
type,  probably  genuine  ;  4th  type,  false. 
Adopting  Dr.  Magnus's  classification,  the 
colours  and  papers  of  the  first  three  types 
are  as  follows  : — 

First  type. — ■ 

A.  Bluish  pelure  paper. 

40  paras  blue. 
80       ,,      wine-red. 

B.  Transparent  pelure  paper. 

5  paras  black  (paper  a  little  bluish). 
40      „     blue. 
80       „     vermilion-red. 

C.  Dull  white  or  yellowish pelu re  paper. 

5  paras  black. 
40       „      dark  blue. 
80       „      bright  red. 

Third  type. — White  pelure  paper. 
80  paras  vermilion-red. 
80       ,,     dark  red. 

Second  type. — White  pelure  paper. 
fi  paras  black. 
40      ,,     pale  blue,  bright  blue. 
80       ,,     bright  red. 
The  rarest  among  these  are  the  40  and  80 
paras  of  the  first  type,  on  bluish  paper.     Dr. 
Magnus   asserts  that   the   same   paper    was 
used  for  the  second  tjTpe  of  the  three  values, 
and  for  the  third  type  of  the  80.     This  tells 
very  much  for  or  against  the  genuineness  of 
both  types,  accordingly  as  the  inference  be 
drawn,  from  the  third  to  the  second,  or  from 
the  second  to  the  third. 


ADDENDUM. 

Moldavian  Finance  Ministry. — No.  8823. 

Jassy,  17  Sept.,  1858. 
To  the  Honourable  Administrative  Council. 

As  the  honourable  Council  is  aware,  the  interior 
letter  postage,  according  to  the  new  tariff,  has  been  fixed 
at  tbe  rate  of  27  paras  for  a  single-weight  letter  for  a  dis- 
tance of  one  to  eight  posts  :  for  letters  with  receipt  [re- 
gistered ?]  the  rate  is  double ;  and  the  said  rates  are  col- 


lected by  means  of  stamps  of  the  required  value,  applied 
according  to  the  weight  of  the  letters. 

Seeing  that  the  application  of  this  system,  based  on  the 
distance  and  the  weight,  causes  very  great  complications, 
not  only  for  the  public,  which,  from  neglecting  to  ascertain 
the  weight  of  the  letters,  is  exposed  to  surcharges  whir.h 
are  sometimes  enormous  ;  but  also  for  the  officials,  who  are 
obliged  to  weigh  and  keep  an  account  of  all  the  letters. 

The  minister,  taking  the  foregoing  into  consideration, 
and  also  the  fact,  that  in  foreign  countries  the  postage 
is  not  based  on  the  distance,  judges  it  necessary  to  es- 
tablish in  this  country  a  rate  independent  of  distance 
and  of  weight  (which,  for  letters,  shows  but  slight  differ- 
ences) ;  and  to  fix  at  40  paras  the  rate  for  each  ordinary 
letter,  and  at  83  paras  the  rate  for  those  with  voucher. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  the  said  rate  to  be  applicable  to  let- 
ters, and  not  to  packets,  which  latter  will  continue  to  be 
subjected  to  the  tariff  established  by  the  regulations  at 
present  in' force. 

In  consequence,  the  honourable  Council  is  requested 
to  be  good  enough  to  take  into  consideration  the  present 
proposition,  and  to  sanction  it  if  it  be  thought  proper,  so 
that  stamps  may  be  made  and  employed  to  carry  it 
into  effect. 


(Signed) 


The  Finance  Minister, 

J.  A.  CANTACITZIN. 


Stamp  Office  Superintendent.— No.  88. 

Jassy,  18  Oct.,  1858. 
To  the  Ron.  the  Finance  Minister. 

The  Post  Office,  by  a  Minute,  No.  2629,  informs 
me  that  conformably  to  an  order,  No.  9741,  which  it  has 
received  from  the  hon.  minister,  it  has  been  decided  to 
print  20,000  postage  stamps  for  the  letter  and  journal  ser- 
vice, viz.  :  — 

12,000  of  40  paras. 
5,000  ,,  80     „ 
3,000  „    5     ,, 
I  have,  therefore,  the  honour  respectfully  to  request 
the  hon.  minister  to  give  me  the  necessary  order  for  the 
fabrication  of  the  above  stamps,  and  to  hand  me  the  dies, 
informing  me  at  the  same  time  if  I  am  to  deliver  the  stamps 
to  the  above  mentioned  office,  or  to  the  hon.  minister. 
(Signed)  A.  DUCA. 


Moldavian  Finance  Ministry. — No.  10046. 

Jassy,  19  Oct.,  1858. 
To  the  Stamp  Office  Superintendent. 

In  reply  to  your  Minute,  No.  88,  the  Finance  De- 
partment informs  you  that  the  emploj-ment  of  the  40,  80, 
and  5  para  stamps  having  to  commence  on  the  1st 
November  next,  you  will  have  to  print  20,000  of  the  said 
stamps,  as  you  were  advised  by  its  order,  No.  9740,  viz: — 

12,000  of  40  paras. 
5,000  „  80      ,, 
3,000  „    5     „ 
As  soon  as  they  are  ready  you  will  deliver  them  to  the 
Finance  Department,  which  will  hand  them  over  to  the 
Post-office. 

You  will  receive  herewith  the  dies  you  have  asked  for, 
which  you  will  please  return  with  the  result  produced. 
(Signed)        The  Finance  Minister, 

J.  A.  CANTACUZIN. 


72 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


NEWLY-ISSUED    OR  IXEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Spain. — "We  have  to  thank  our  esteemed 
correspondent.  Senor  M.  P.  de  Figueroa,  for 
the  following  extract  from  La  Politica,  one  of 
the  leading  Madrid  journals  : 

The  falsification  of  postage  stamps  is  now*  conducted  on 
so  large  a  scale,  and  is  causing  such  a  considerable 
loss  to  the  treasury,  that  the  finance  minister  has  ap- 
pointed a  committee,  composed  of  Messrs.  Don  Luis 
Marchioni,  royal  engraver-general;  Don  Juan  Estrach, 
principal  engraver  to  the  hydrographical  depot;  Don 
Vicente  Palmaroli  and  Don  Eugenio  Julio,  engravers  to 
the  national  stamp-printing  office ;  and  Don  Eduardo 
Fernandez  Pescador,  member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of 
St.  Ferdinand,  Madrid — charged  with  the  duty  of  pro- 
posing a  system  of  stamp  printing  which  shall  offer  the 
greatest  difficulties  to  forgers,  taking  into  consideration 
the  great  advances  made  in  the  preparation  of  chemical 
reactors,  and  in  photography,  and  shall  at  same  time  be 
a  cheap  system. 

According  to  our  Belgian  contemporary, 
which  has  also  had  intelligence  of  the  ap- 
pointment of  this  commission,  its  labours 
have  resulted  in  a  decision  that  the  stamps 
shall  be  printed  in  three  colours.  This  is 
the  resource  of  printers  who  are  conscious 
of  their  own  deficiencies.  Either  the  instru- 
ments necessary  to  the  production  of  really 
fine  engravings,  or  the  workmen  capable 
of  manipulating  such  instruments,  must  be 
lacking-. 

The  first  consequence  of  this  decision  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  withdrawal  of  the 
finely  cut  type  of  which  we  reproduced  the 
engraving  last  month.  However,  as  the  an- 
nouncement in  Le  Timbre-Poste  is  not  very 
clear  on  this  point,  we  prefer  to  give  it 
verbatim. 

A  type,  Avith  effigy  of  the  king,  submitted  by  Messrs. 
Alegre  and  Alabern  had  been  adopted  and  paid  for,  but 
the  latter  engraver  has  certainly  received  instructions  to 
prepare  another  tvpe,  Avith  the  effigy  of  the  kin?,  but  in 
profile.  The  values  will  be  1,  2,  5,  6,  10,  12,  25,  40,  50* 
cent  de  peseta,  and  1,  4,  10,  and  19  pesetas. 

Thus  the  present  series,  whose  design 
leaves  so  much  to  be  desired,  would  appear 
to  have  received  a  fresh  lease  of  life.  Mean- 
while, however,  the  recently  engraved  de- 
sign, of  which  we  gave  an  illustration  in  our 
February  number,  is  being  utilised  for  Cuba, 
and  but  for  certain  changes  in  the  Madrid 
stamp-printing  office,  the  series  would  be 
now  in  use.  There  is  also  "  in  the  press  " 
a    new    desigu    for    the    Philippine    Islands, 


consisting  of  a  florid  portrait  of  the  king — 
three-quarter  face — in  an  upright  rectangle, 
with  cokreos  above  and  filipinas  below ; 
blank  labels  being  left  at  the  sides  for  the 

:  value.  The  execution,  it  is  said,  leaves  much 
to  be  desired  ;  as  for  the  portrait,  it  has  little 
in  common  with  that  on  its  Cuban  confrere, 

J  and  if  the  reign  of  King  Amadeus  be  pro- 
longed, we  shall  probably  witness  the    ap- 

\  pearance  of  as  many  different  "likenesses" 
of  him  as  there  are  of  his  predecessor,  Queen 

i  Isabella.  The  design,  as  far  as  we  can  judge 
from  a  woodcut,  though  plain,  is  far  from 

j  being  devoid  of  merit.  The  values  are  said 
to  be  four  in  number  : — 62|,  125,  250,  and 

!  500  cent — esimos  ('?). 

M.  Moens  has  been  favoured  with  a  sight 
of  an  envelope  from  Cuba,  marked  Cuba,  20 
Fecrier,  1872,  prepaid  by  means  of  a  Paris- 
printed  perforated  40  c.  French  republic  and 
two  imperial  French  laureated  80  c.  stamps. 
The  obliteration  consists  of  a  series  of  dots, 
disposed  in  the  form  of  a  lozenge,  with  an 
anchor  in  the  centre.  Our  Belgian  friend  is 
mystified  by  the  appearance  of  these  stamps 
on  a  Cuban  letter,  and,  we  confess,  with 
some  reason.  It  is  true  the  obliteration  is 
known  to  be  that  of  a  French  post-office,  in 
jjartibus  infidelibus.  It  has  been  noted  in 
this  magazine  as  having  been  used  for  letters 
passing  through  the  French  office  in  Japan  ; 
but  the  question  arises, — is  there  any  French 
office  in  Cuba  ?  To  this  we  cannot  reply ; 
but  it  is  very  strange  that  a  Paris-printed 
French  stamp  should  come  from  Cuba 
twenty  days  after  the  reopening  of  Paris,  in 
which  city  alone  were  they  used  during  the 
siege. 

AYe  are  indebted  to  Senor  P.  de  Figueroa 
for  communication  of  another  member  of  the 
numerous  band  of  Spanish  official  frank 
stamps.  It  has  been  only  recently  issued, 
is  printed  a  bright  blue,  and  for  a  handstamp 
is  unusually  clear.  It  is  circular,  with  the 
revised  and  corrected  arms  in  the  centre, 
the  Savoy  cross  replacing  the  Bourbon  lilies 
on  the  escutcheon,  and  round  the  border  is 
the  inscription  CUARTO  militar  de  S.M. — gefe, 
that  is  to  say, — Military  Household  of  His 
Majesty — Chief  (Qy.,  head  quarters).  It 
is  curious  to  note  that  in  a  production  of 
this    kind    an    orthographical   error    should 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


occur  ;  but  it  appears  that  the  correct  spell- 
ing of  the  word  chief  is  Jefe,  aud  the  blunder 
made  in  commencing  it  with  a  G  seems  very 
ridiculous  to  a  Castilian  eye. 

We  must  not  omit  to  notice  a  report, 
originating  with  El  Averiguaclor,  a  good  au- 
thority, to  the  effect  that  the  Spanish  post- 
office  is  about  to  issue  a  stamp,  value  one 
centimo  de  peseta,  subdivisible,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  Mecklenburg  and  Brunswick 
quartett,  into  four  quarter  centimos.  The 
reason  for  this  emission  is  another  curious 
illustration  of  the  style  of  managing  things 
at  present  in  vogue  in  Spain.  The  denomi- 
nations which  up  to  the  present  time  have 


in    "  cuartos," 


centimos 


been  expressed 
d'escudos,"  and  "  millesimas  d'escudos,"  is 
henceforth  to  be  in  "  centimos  de  peseta." 
The  law  or  decree  by  virtue  of  which  the  new 
series  is  to  be  emitted,  makes  no  provision 
for  the  issue  of  any  stamps  below  the  value 
of  one  centimo,  and  that  is  too  high  for 
printed  matter  weighing  less  than  5  grammes. 
The  Spanish  postmaster,  to  reconcile  the  law 
with  the  postal  tariff,  has  decided  on  issuing 
four  quarter  centimo  stamps  in  one  single 
frame. 

We  have  just  time,  before  going  to  press, 
to  chronicle  the  issue  of  the  25  mil.  of  the 
current  series,  in  a  very  rich  bright  mauve, 
on  semi-transparent  paper. 

Portuguese  Indies. — The  subjoined  en- 
graving is  that  of  a  stamp  introduced  to 
notice  by  M.  Moens,  who, 
whilst  he  states  that  he  re- 
ceived the  original  from  a 
source  far  from  suspicious, 
is  careful  not  to  guarantee 
its  authenticity.  We,  for 
our  part,  must  avow  we  look 
upon  it  as  of  very  ques- 
It  is  said  to  be  issued  for 
the  use  of  the  three  small  Portuguese  set- 
tlements, Goa,  Din,  and  Damaune,  and  is 
exceedingly  coarse  and  ugly;  but  though, 
if  it  be  admitted  that  the  design  is  of  colonial 
origin,  its  faults  may  be,  to  a  certain  extent, 
accounted  for,  if  not  excused,  yet  that 
affords  no  explanation  of  the  grotesqueness 
of  the  inscriptions.  We  do  not  pretend  to 
affirm  that  servico  postal  is  not  Portuguese  ; 
but  we  may,  at  any  rate,  point  out  that  the 


tionable  value. 


word  correio  has  hitherto  been  the  only  term 
used  on  the  Portuguese  home  or  colonial 
stamps  to  designate  the  post-office  or  its 
service.  Nor  are  the  words  india  port  cal- 
culated to  increase  our  confidence  in  the 
stamp.  The  thing  we  strongly  suspect  to 
be  a  humbug  of  the  first  water,  though, 
should  our  suspicions  prove  groundless,  we 
shall  be  happy  to  make  the  amende  honorable. 
That  our  readers  may  the  more  readily  detect 
it,  we  may  state  that  it  is  printed  in  black,  is 
perforated — an  odd  characteristic  for  so 
rough  a  stamp, — and  the  copy  from  which 
M.  Moens  describes  is  obliterated  with  an 
oval,  formed  of  a  set  of  horizontal  lines,  with 
the  figure  16  in  the  centre  ;  though  where 
sixteen  post-offices  could  be  found  in  the 
settlements  above  referred  to  is  a  mystery. 

Great  Britain. — The  really  handsome  de- 
sign, of  which  the  annexed  engraving  is  a 
fair  copy,  has  made  its  appearance,  as  the 
French  say,  without  drum 
or  trumpet.  The  execution 
is  on  a  par  with  Messrs.  De 
La  Rue's  habitual  finish  and 
style,  and  the  colour,  a  deli- 
cate light  brown,  completes 
the  charm.  The  design  is 
superior  to  that  of  any  of 
the  other  English  stamps, 
and  we  almost  think  it  must  have  been 
originally  intended  for  one  of  our  colonies,  or 
for  some  foreign  customer.  We  only  hope 
that  the  other  values  may  soon  be  repre- 
sented by  equally  attractive  types  :  and  the 
only  thing  we  have  to  regret  is  the  insertion 
of  the  minute  figures  and  corner  letters.  On 
this  new  sixpenny  the  numerals  11  will  be 
found  at  the  bases  of  the  lower  triangles,  and 
they  are  so  finely  drawn  and  unobtrusive 
that  they  appear  to  merge  in  the  general  de- 
sign ;  but  this,  no  doubt,  is  partly  owing  to 
their  shape  ;  more  intricate  figures,  such  as 
4,  8,  3,  6,  or  9,  would  show  up  more  pro- 
minently. In  this  connection  it  is  worth 
noting  that  the  usual  system  of  commencing* 
a  fresh  set  of  numbers  with  a  fresh  design 
has  been  departed  from.  The  last  plate  of 
the  old  sixpenny  bears  the  number  10  ;  the 
new  type  starts  with  number  11.  The  plan 
of  putting  check  letters  in  the  corners  seems 
to  us   to   be  a  superfluous  precaution.     No 


7-4 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


English  stamp  was  ever  forged  before  the 
adoption  of  this  plan,  and  it  is  the  only 
feature  in  the  English  mode  of  stamp  fabrica- 
tion that  has  found  absolutely  no  supporters 
in  foreign  countries  or  the  colonies.  Were  it 
to  be  abandoned,  scope  would  be  given  for  a 
much  freer  and  more  graceful  ornamentation 
of  the  angles. 

The  portrait  is  the  stereotyped  profile 
which  may  certainly  be  said  to  adorn  so 
*  many  stamps;  it  is  "  a  thing  of  beauty,"  and 
therefore  may  remain  "a  joy  for  ever  "  to 
the  engravers  ;  but  we  should  prefer  some- 
thing more  realistic  and  less  fanciful.  The 
Canadian  bill,  and  Newfoundland  postage 
stamps,  with  portrait  of  the  Queen,  in 
widow's  weeds,  are  infinitely  more  pleasing, 
and  excite  the  admiration  even  of  outside 
philistines. 

Fresh  specimens  of  English  dated  en- 
velopes, with  threads,  continue  to  crop  up. 
Our  Birmingham  contemporary  notices  a 
penny  envelope,  dated  6-6-62.  Some  au- 
thoritative explanation  of  the  reissue  of  the 
threaded  envelopes  is  much  to  be  desired. 

The  Philatelist  notices  that  Messrs.  Parkins 
&  Gotto  now  use  penny  envelopes,  of  which 
the  impressed  stamp  is  surrounded  with  a 
ring*  bearing-  their  names,  &c,  in  white  cameo 
letters,  on  a  ground  of  dull  plum  or  bright 
green,  which  latter  hue,  our  correspondent 
observes,  contrasting  with  the  pink,  has  a 
pleasing  effect. 

The  change  in  the  regulations  connected 
with  the  sale  of  post  cards  seems  to  have 
been  made  principally  for  the  benefit  of 
stationers,  who  are  to  be  "  at  liberty  to  de- 
vise a  variety  of  cards,  differing  in  quality 
and  design,"  for  general  use  ;  but  from  a 
reply  made  by  the  Postmaster-general  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  on  the  13th  ult.,  to  a 
question  addressed  to  him,  it  appears  that 
only  cards  bearing  impressed  stamps  will  be 
accepted  at  the  post-office.  We  should  have 
thought  that  within  certain  defined  limits  of 
size  any  card,  prepaid  by  an  adhesive  stamp, 
would  have  been  acceptable.  However,  the 
question  now  arises  to  us,  as  philatelists, — 
Will  the  cards  which  may  be  presented  for 
stamping,  by  stationers,  bear  the  present 
post-card  stamp,  without  the  accompanying 
border  and  inscription,  or  the  present  half- 


penny wrapper  stamp,  or  will  they  be  dis- 
tinguished by  some  special  design  ? 

In  our  March  number  one  of  our  corres- 
pondents mentioned  the  existence  of  hand- 
stamped  inscriptions  on  old  letters,  consisting 
of  the  words  pknny  post,  with  the  name  of  a 
town  or  person  prefixed.  Another  corres- 
pondent sends  us  some  of  these  old  marks 
for  our  inspection.  We  have  Daventry, 
St.  Albans,  and  Watford  penny  post — the 
name  of  the  town  in  Roman  capitals,  the 
other  words  in  small  letters — and  Potton 
penny  post,  in  italics  ;  in  all  cases  the  town 
being  on  the  first,  and  the  words  "penny  post" 
on  the  second  line.  Our  correspondent  does 
not  give  us  the  dates  of  the  letters  from 
wThich  these  postmarks  were  cut  out;  we 
are,  therefore,  left  uncertain  whether  they 
had  any  reference  to  a  local  penny  rate 
for  letters  posted  and  delivered  within  the 
same  town  before  the  introduction  of  the  pre- 
sent general  system,  or  whether  it  is  merely 
a  memento  of  the  first  days  of  that  system. 
At  any  rate  they  are  certainly  far  from  being 
devoid  of  interest,  and  authentic  intelligence 
respecting  them  is  much  to  be  desired. 

Norway. — Drontheim. — A  new  local  for  this 
town  has  just  been  handed  to  us  by  a  well- 
known  Liverpool  firm.  We  append  an  il- 
lustration of  it.  It  is 
printed  in  carmine-rose, 
and  perforated.    The  name 

— BRiEKSTAD  &    CO. — On  the 

garter  is  that  of  the  owners 
of  the  post.  Mr.  Brsek- 
stad  was  formerly  in  busi- 
ness in  Liverpool ;  he  has 
now  been  established  at 
Drontheim — or  Throndhjems,  to  adopt  the 
Norwegian  spelling — for  upwards  of  five 
years,  as  a  large  bookseller  and  stationer. 
Having  purchased  the  local  post  from  the 
last  proprietors,  he  has  remodelled  it,  and 
issued  the  above  stamp,  together  with  two 
other  values,  \  sk.  and  2  sk.,  of  the  colours 
of  which  we  are  as  yet  without  information. 
The  old  brown  Throndhjems  stamp  is  now 
obsolete.  The  execution  of  the  new  design  is 
respectable,  and  from  the  foregoing  details  it 
will  be  seen  that  it  may  be  considered  as 
worthy  of  acceptance. 

France. — The    announcement   we   copied 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


75 


last  month  from  a  French  Dewspaper,  that  a 
new  series  of  adhesives  is  shortly  to  be 
emitted,  gains  in  consistency.  From  a  dia- 
gram published  in  a  Parisian  daily,  it  would 
appear  that  the  value  in  words  will  be  re- 
peated on  three  sides  of  the  frame,  and  it  is 
affirmed  that  the  issue  will  commence  on  this 
1st  of  May.  Of  the  proposed  design  with 
large  figures  in  centre,  rejected  on  account 
of  their  ugliness,  Baron  Arthur  Rothschild 
possesses  three  proofs  in  black  on  carton. 

Ceylon. — We  annex    engravings    of  two 
more    of  the  values  of  the  new  series,  and 


,-u--o-u-'j-j-j 


!?~Lrv-!Txnj"j-,^r,>j-j-jxn 


[TWO  CENTSI  3 


/XXLT-iU-l-n-T. 


take  the  opportunity  to  mention,  on  the 
united  authority  of  our  Brighton  and  Bir- 
mingham contemporaries,  the  interesting 
fact  that  the  new  Cingalese  dollar,  composed 
of  100  cents,  is  worth  only  about  2/1  or  2/2  ; 
and,  therefore,  the  cent  just  equals  our  far- 
thing. The  new  series  thus  contains  the 
equivalents  of  the  old  |d.,  Id.,  2d.,  4d.,  6d., 
9d.,  1/-,  and  2/-  stamps.  Most  probably  the 
threepence  will  also  be  represented  in  it 
before  long. 

United  States. — The  seven-cent  stamps, 
if  Mr.  Scott  be  an  authority,  are  having  a 
diversified  life.  They  were  first  issued  in 
consequence  of  a  seven-cent  rate  having  been 
negociated  with  Germany,  then  withdrawn 
upon  the  reduction  of  that  rate  to  six  cents, 
and  now  reissued  in  consequence  of  the 
seven-cent  rate  being  established  for  letters 
to  Denmark.  .  Does  the  United  States  issue 
stamps  to  suit  the  rates,  or  does  it  make 
rates  to  suit  the  stamps?  The  Philatelical 
Journal,  relying  on  information  supplied  to  it 
by  an  Indiana  postmaster,  doubts  the  state- 
ments of  the  New  York  paper,  but  we  are, 
nevertheless,  inclined  to  trust  the  latter.  At 
any  rate  it  is  satisfactory  to  know  that  the 
7  c.  is  still  current,  as  it  will  be  procurable 
at  a  reasonable  price  instead  of  being  elevated 
into  a  rarity. 


n_rua_run-P_n_n.n-r-. 


Prixce  Edward  Island. — We  annex  a  re- 
presentation of  the  new 
one  cent,  which  is  found  in 
two  very  distinct  shades — 
a  dull  yellow-orange  and 
a  deep  orange-red.  It 
will  be  observed  that  the 
figure  is  repeated  in  all 
four  corners,  without  any 
addition  to  the  beauty  of 
the  design  as  a  result. 

Russia. — We  have  infoima^ion,  from  two 
of  our  Russian  correspondents,  of  the  in- 
tention of  the  imperial  post-office  to  issue 
post  cards  bearing  impressed  stamps.  One 
of  our  informants  states  that  they  were  to 
appear  on  or  about  the  1st  April,  old  style  ; 
the,  values  are  to  be  3  and  5  kop.,  respectively, 
but  we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  designs 
adopted.  The  unstamped  cards  will  continue 
in  circulation. 

We  draw  attention  to  Mr.  Pleske's  inter- 
esting letter  in  our  correspondence  columns, 
explaining  the  signification  of  the  arms  de- 
picted on  several  of  the  Russian  local  stamps. 
New  Granada. — A  new  one-centavo  stamp 
from  this  country  reached  us  at  the  beginning 
of  last  month,  of  which  we  _ 
have  pleasure  in  subjoining 
an  illustration.  The  arms 
are  maintained  in  their  place 
of  honour ;  the  nine  stars  are 
represented  by  nine  little 
asterisks  below  the  shield, 
and  at  a  first  glance  appear  to 
have  been  inserted  as  an  insignificant  ground- 
work. The  colour  is  a  dull,  or  "sap,"  green. 
Perforation  is  still  a  deferred  improvement. 

New  South  Wales. — On  the  occasion  of 
the  issue  of  the  new  sixpenny  stamp  for  this 
colony  we  reproduce  the 
engraving  copied  from 
the  proof  which  figures 
on  p.  105  of  our  eighth 
volume.  We  learn,  from 
the  Philatelical  Journal, 
that  the  cost  of  the  die, 
&c,  was  so  great  that 
the  New  South  Wales 
government  had  a  copy  made  in  the  colony, 
the  execution  of  which  is  really  excellent. 
This   reminds  us  of  the    procedure    of  the 


,n_r  ._n  _n_n_n.  n_  n  _n  _rv_  I 


'6 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


Belgian  post-office,  which  also  found  Messrs. 
De  La  Rue's  productions  to  be  of  the  nature 
of  expensive  luxuries. 

Fiji  Islands. — It  is  suggested  that  the 
letters  c.  R.  stand  for  cakombau  REX.  The 
surcharged  set  of  stamps  now  arrives  per- 
forated. The  sheets  are  said,  by  the  American 
Journal  of  Philately,  to  be  watermarked  FIJI 
postage,  each  stamp  in  the  centre  row  getting 
one  letter. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope. — The  latest  arrivals 
of  the  penny  stamp  show  a  white  line  added 
to  the  inner  frame,  the  shading  also  is  lighter 
than  heretofore.  The  American  Journal  of 
Philately  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  first 
noticing  these  peculiarities. 

South  African  Republic. — A  new  enve- 
lope has  recently  made  its  appearance, 
bearing,  on  the  right  hand  upper  corner,  an 
impression  in  azure  blue,  from  the  die  of  the 
adhesive  sixpence  of  the  first  type,  which 
bears  the  ornithological  designation  of  "  owl- 
eagle." 

Canada. — The  Canadian  Philatelist  says: — ■ 
"  It  is  unlikely  that  the  12  J  c.  small  size  will 
be  issued,  as  the  large  ones  are  very  little 
used,  and  can  now  be  bought  at  the  post- 
office  at  12  cents." 

British  Honduras. — The  Philatelist  states 
that  it  has  been  decided  to  issue  a  threepenny 
stamp  for  this  colony,  of  the  design  of  the 
present  set,  colour  as  yet  nndetermined. 

"WHAT  ARE  THEY  WORTH  ? 

"  Eien  n'est  sacre  ])our  un  sapeur"  and  the 
reprinter  may  be  put  in  the  same  category 
with  the  military  desecrator.  In  his  hands  no 
rarities  are  safe.  Unobliterated  impressions 
of  the  first  Brunswick  emission  have  been 
hitherto  counted  among  the  choice  spe- 
cialities of  a  good  collection,  and  original 
specimens  will  continue  to  be  so  considered, 
but  reprints  of  two  at  least  out  of  the  three 
values  have  appeared,  and  the  market  is 
evidently  on  the  point  of  being  inundated 
with  them.  Undiscerning  collectors  may  be 
attracted  by  the  temptation  to  possess  un- 
used copies  of  this  first  issue,  but  experienced 
philatelists  will  shun  them  as  the  result  of  a 
reprehensible  speculation.  Even  beginners 
will,    wc    trust,    have   the    sense   to    prefer 


honestly  obliterated  specimens  to  the  "flashy" 
reprints  which  can  add  no  more  value *to  the 
collections  which  receive  them,  than  would  a 
mere  wood-cut  en  Graving  of  the  design.  In 
the  batch  of  Brunswick  reprints,  which  form 
the  subject  of  the  present  observations,  are 
comprised  the  rare  1  sgr.  rose,  and  the  2  sgr. 
blue,  on  white  paper.  The  colours  and  en- 
tire appearance  are  characterised  by  an  un- 
wholesome newness.  There  is  also  a  3  sgr. 
rose,  unwatermarked,  like  the  other  two,  but 
if  it  be  intended  to  represent  the  stamp  of 
that  value  in  the  first  series,  printed  in  red, 
it  is  a  miserable  failure.  Its  colour  is  un- 
mistakably rose,  and  were  it  watermarked,  we 
should  have  no  hesitation  in  classing  it  as 
the  1862  emission. 

Besides  these  there  are  found  the  1  sgr.  of 
1853  on  orange  and  buff  paper,  2  sgr.  dark 
blue,  and  3  sgr.  rose,  of  the  same  series;  J  sgr. 
brown,  and  J  sgr.  white,  of  1856,  and  the  1 
sgr.  yellow  of  1865 — all  unwatermarked,  so 
there  can  be  no  great  difficulty  in  distinguish- 
ing them  from  the  originals,  and  this  time 
we  shall  hear  no  talk  of  remainders. 

With  the  Brunswick  reprints  there  have 
appeared  a  number  of  questionable  Hawaiian 
2,  5  and  13  c.  The  2  c.  are  of  the  1862  type, 
portrait  of  Kamehameha  IY.,  with  branches 
at  sides,  and  ueu  leta  above.  They  are  of  a 
strikingly  deep  red  colour,  and  in  sheets  of 
fifteen,  are  unused,  and  have  the  word  can- 
celled printed  in  black  capitals  across  the 
base  of  the  disk,  and  touching  the  margin  on 
either  side.  The  5  c.  and  13  c.  are  of  the  1853 
emission,  portrait  of  Kamehameha  III.,  and 
are  in  sheets  of  twenty  stamps,  with  the 
word  specimen,  in  close  black  capitals,  printed 
across  the  base  of  the  bust.  The  colours  of 
these  stamps  are  of  the  ordinary  shades. 
These  "  specimen  "  and  "  cancelled  "  im- 
pressions come,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
the  fact,  from  the  Honolulu  post-office  itself, 
but,  in  the  words  of  our  title, — What  are 
they  worth  ?  Mr.  Atlee's  recent,  and  still 
unfinished,  article  on  the  Hawaiian  stamps 
furnishes  us  some  answer  to  this  question. 
Mr.  Atlee  has  seen  the  "specimen"  5  c.  and 
13  c,  and  may,  though  he  does  not  say  so, 
have  also  seen  the  "cancelled"  two  cents. 
His  impression  of  the  former  is,  that  they 
"  are  either  portions  of  waste  sheets,  or  copies 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


77 


purposely  cancelled  to  destroy  their  franking 
powers."  We  say  (he  adds)  the  hulk  ad- 
visedly, for  doubtless  genuine  early  impres- 
sions so  marked  may  exist.  We  found  our 
opinion  upon  a  letter  received  from  the 
Honolulu  post-office  by  M.  Nunes,  of  Paris, 
dated  September  9th,  18G9.  After  invoicing 
the  balance  of  the  later  "figure"  stamps 
then  in  the  office,  the  postmaster  says  :  "You 
have  herewith,  twenty  of  each  old  5  c.  and 
13  c.  head  '  specimen.'  All  now  left  in 
P.O.  of  this  kind  are  so  marked  ;  future 
orders  can,  therefore,  only  be  filled  of  that 
kind,  although  the  full  price  is  charged.  In 
case  you  should  give  any  further  orders,  please 
bear  this  in  consideration,  and  give  us  your 
instructions." 

Mr.  Atlee,  upon  this,  justly  remarked  that 
no  government  would  print  off  hundreds  of 
sheets  with  each  stamp  a  specimen,  and 
that,  therefore,  this. mark  must  have  been 
adopted  either  to  prevent  the  issue  of  waste 
sheets,  or  to  satisfy  the  postmaster's  scruples 
in  selling  the  stamps  to  collectors,  adding, 
however,  that  "when  the  postmaster  offers 
to  fill  '  further  orders,'  one  feels  inclined  to 
suspect  reprinting." 

Mr.  Atlee's  suspicions  seem  to  be  fully 
justified  by  the  event,  and  there  is  nothing 
surprisingin  the  postmaster  of  a  semi-civilized 
state,  for  the  sake  of  a  slight  addition  to  a 
revenue  which  can  never  be  great,  stooping  to 
a  practice  which  would  be  beneath  the  notice 
of  the  postal  department  of  a  more  important 
power.  The  idea  certainly  need  not  surprise  us 
after  the  hint  that  has  been  already  thrown 
out,  to  the  effect  that  the  New  Granadine 
office  forges  its  own  stamps  for  the  benefit  of 
collectors.  We  doubt  the  probability  of 
waste  sheets  having  been  held  over  during 
the  long  period  which  has  elapsed  since  the 
Hawaiian  stamps  in  question  were  withdrawn 
from  circulation,  and  believe  that  the  phrase 
in  the  postmaster's  letter,  "  All  now  left  in 
the  P.O.  of  this  kind  are  so  marked,"  should 
read,  "All  now  made  in  the  P.O."  The 
regularity  of  the  impression  of  the  sur- 
charged word  shows  that  the  inscription 
was  set  up  with  a  certain  amount  of  care 
and  precision  to  provide  for  the  printing  off 
of  a  considerable  stock,  and  the  widely  differ- 
ent colour  of  the  two  cents  is  in  itself  evidence 


of  a  reprint.  The  use  of  the  word  "cancelled" 
for  the  latter  value,  which  seems  to  have  been 
reprinted  since  the  other,  as  it  was  not  refer- 
red to  in  the  letter  above  quoted,  shows  that, 
either  as  the  result  of  his  own  meditations, 
or  in  consequence  of  a  suggestion  to  that 
effect,  the  Honolulu  postmaster  saw  that  the 
word  "  specimen "  was  objectionable,  and 
that  the  word  "  cancelled"  lent  itself  better 
to  the  supposition  that  the  stamps  were  re- 
mainders. 

Now,  we  ask  again, — What  are  they 
worth?  They  are  most  probably  reprints, 
palmed  off  as  remainders  ;  they  do  not  come 
to  us  in  honest  guise,  and  the  semblance  of 
deception  in  the  get-up  is^ fatal  to  the  claims 
for  admission  of  the  stamp  which  bears  it. 
We  strongly  advise  our  readers  to  abstain 
from  purchasing  them,  as  they  can  never  be 
regarded  as  really  satisfactory  specimens  of 
the  type  they  represent. 

REVIEWS  of  POSTAL  PUBLICATIONS. 

The    Canadian   Philatelist.      Quebec :    Birt, 

Williams,  &  Co. 
We  hail  with  pleasure  the  starting  of  a 
stamp-collector's  magazine  in  the  Dominion, 
and  wish  our  young  contemporary  success. 
Its  present  dimensions  are  modest,  but  if  it 
receives  the  support  it  deserves  from  the 
philatelists  of  British  America,  an  increase 
in  volume  will  soon  be  called  for.  At  pre- 
sent it  is  true  the  "  cause  "  does  not  seem  to 
be  in  a  very  encouraging  condition.  "  In 
Canada,"  says  the  new  journal,  "the  whole 
body  of  collectors  are  boys  ;  in  fact,  we  do  no£ 
know  of  more  than  half-a-dozen  adults  who 
collect  postage  stamps,  and  are  acquainted 
with  but  one  'philatelist."  Perhaps  it  may  be 
right  in  stating  that  "  one  of  the  causes  of 
this  deplorable  condition  of  things  is  the 
want  of  a  good  stamp  journal,  or  at  any  rate 
of  a  really  conscientious  dealer."  If  so,  the 
editors  and  publishers  of  the  new  enterprise 
have  the  means  of  effecting  a  philatelic  re- 
suscitation ;  the  former,  by  making  their 
paper  attractive  ;  the  latter,  by  practising 
that  conscientiousness  they  commend. 

The  leading  article  in  the  second  and  third 
numbers  are  readable.  "  What  shall  we  col- 
lect? "  is  written  with  a  freedom  from  ignorant 


78 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


prejudice  against  the  acceptance  of  water- 
mark and  perforation  varieties,  which,  in  an 
article  written  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  causes  us  a  pleasant  surprise.  The 
paper  "  The  Canadian  Post  "  is  creditable  to 
the  writer,  though  we  think  the  leading  facts 
appeared  some  years  back  in  The  Stamp- 
Collector's  Monthly  Gazette. 

If  we  may  give  a  hint  to  our  confrere,  it 
would  be  to  omit  the  monthly  article  entitled 
"  The  Press,"  as  the  space  is  too  confined  to 
admit  of  a  sufficient  notice  of  the  contents  of 
other  journals,  and  would  be  better  filled  by 
a  well-digested  article  on  some  interesting 
philatelic  point.  Oar  "  young"  friend  must 
remember  that  it  has  not  room  enough  to  be 
diffusive,  and  every  line  of  its  contents  should 
contain  real  information  ;  there  is  enough 
and  to  spare  to  be  had,  and  it  only  requires 
proper  working  up. 


The  St  amp -Collector's  Journal  and  Philatelical 
Opinion.     London  :  Light  &  Jackson. 

Two  numbers  of  this  journal  are  before  us. 
They  represent  the  venture  of  a  newly- 
started  firm,  and  are  characterised  by  a 
respectable  tone.  Without  being  strikingly 
original,  their  contents  are  readable,  and 
more  especially  those  of  the  second  number. 
The  grammar  also,  as  a  whole,  is  up  to  the 
mark,  although  the  expression,  "  we  must 
content  us  "  would  bear  correction,  and  some 
better  word  than  "  skinny  "  might  have  been 
found,  to  designate  a  poorly-drawn  anchor. 

Our  first  impression,  on  reading  the  title 
"  Philatelical  Opinion,"  was,  that  we  were 
about  to  peruse  a  magazine  got  up  in  the 
style  of  Public  Opinion,  and  composed  ex- 
clusively of  selections  from  the  philatelic 
press.  For  such  a  paper  we  should  think 
there  might  be  fair  scope. 

In  the  chronicle  we  find  one  or  two  novel 
items, — thus,  it  is  stated  that  the  union  of 
the  Orange  Free  State  with  the  South 
African  Republic  is  likely  to  take  place 
shortly,  with  the  probable  result  of  a  fresh 
emission  of  stamps.  Again,  our  contem- 
porary affirms  that  "the  Sydney  letter-sheets, 
which  are  now  being  offered  pretty  freely, 
are  not  even  reprints  " — a  statement  in  sup- 
port of  which  he  offers  no  proof  whatever. 


A  list  of  Queensland  stamps  follows  the 
chronicle,  and  appears  to  have  been  carefully 
compiled ;  indeed,  the  editor  of  The  Phila- 
telical Journal  states  that  its  arrangement 
"has  been  obtained,  in  some  inexplicable 
manner,  from  his  own  private  notes."  This, 
he  adds,  he  can  prove,  for  "  the  very  ex- 
pressions, the  divisions  and  subdivisions,  and 
the  concluding  remarks,  are  all  his  own." 
This  is  either  a  very  striking  coincidence — 
or  something  else.  At  any  rate,  it  is  a 
personal  question,  into  which  we  have  no 
reason  to  enter  further.  In  the  introduction 
to  this  Queensland  article,  we  find  the  follow- 
ing sensible  observation  upon  colour- varieties. 

Of  all  variations,  those  of  intensity  or  paleness  of  shade 
are  least  important,  as  they  are  the  result  of  chance,  for 
the  most  part.  Anyone  who  has  examined  any  number 
of  stamps  in  sheets,  will  have  noticed  how  often  the  row 
on  the  one  side  of  the  sheet  is  dark,  while  that  on  the 
opposite  side  is  pale. 

This  we  can  fully  confirm;  and  the  ex- 
planation lies  in  the  fact  that  the  roller, 
when  passed  over  the  plate  or  stone,  is 
frequently  pressed  down  with  greater  force 
on  the  side  nearest  the  workman.  Con- 
demning, as  the  writer  of  the  above  quotation 
does,  the  collection  of  shades,  he  is  hardly 
consistent  with  himself  in  noticing  so  many 
for  the  Queensland  stamps.  Thus,  the  penny 
of  1863,  unwatermarked,  on  thick  paper, 
machine  perf.  13,  is  given  as  existing  in  red- 
brown,  orange-vermilion,  pale  orange,  and 
deep  orange.  The  red-brown  and  the  orange 
were  presumably  the  result  of  separate 
mixings  of  colour,  but  who  can  say  as  much 
of  the  minor  shades  of  orange  ? 

Under  the  heading  "  The  Detection  of 
Forged  Stamps,"  a  new  and  dangerous  set 
of  Hamburg  counterfeits  are  treated  on — 
the  current  Dutch  Indies.  The  description 
is  accompanied  by  a  specimen  of  the  forged 
5  c,  which  is  so  well  copied,  even  to  the 
shade  of  green,  as  easily  to  deceive  an  un- 
practised observer. 

The  remaining  contents  of  the  second 
number  do  not  call  for  special  attention. 
Altogether,  though  not  brilliant,  the  new 
comer  is  superior  to  most  of  the  recently 
issued  publications,  and  may  in  time  prove 
to  be  a  substantial  acquisition  to  the  ranks 
of  the  philatelic  press. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


79 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

THE  PRUSSIAN  SIEGE  OF  PARIS. 

To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Sir, — The  interesting  article  in  your  last  number, 
on  "Postal  Matters  under  the  Commune,"  is  not  quite 
accurate  in  one  particular  : — "It  is  a  remarkable  fact, 
that  during  the  first  siege  no  imperial  stamps,  so  far  as 
we  know,  were  used."  In  opposition  to  this  statement, 
1  have  in  my  collection  two  balloon  letters,  postmarked 
parts,  oct.  3",  and  dec.  7,  bearing,  respectively,  30  c.  and 
20  c.  stamps  of  the  empire  series.  The  earliest  dated 
letter  with  the  republic  stamps  (10  c,  20  c,  perf.)  that  I 
have,  is  postmarked  NOV.  9. 

Tours  truly, 

WARDEN 


THE  NEW   CHILIAN  POSTAGE  STAMPS,   &c. 
To  the  Editor  of  "  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you,  that 
the  post-office  authorities  here  have  decided  to  issue 
envelopes,  as  well  as  post  cards,  and  have  ordered  the  fol- 
lowing to  be  made  in  the  United  States  :—  Post  cards,  2  c. 
black  and  5  c.  red  ;  envelopes,  2  c.  bronze,  5  c.  red,  10  c. 
blue,  15  c,  colour  not  fixed,  and  20  c.  green.  In  a  letter 
to  the  editor  of  The  Philatelist  the  other  da}r,  I  added  an 
adhesive,  value  15  c. ;  but  on  a  second  reading  of  the 
postmaster-general's  note  to  the  minister  for  foreign 
affairs,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  we  are  not  to 
have  the  benefit  of  any  addition  to  our  adhesive  series. 

The  English  card  is  to  serve  as  model  for  the  Chilian 
"  Taijeta,"  Ours  is  to  be  of  the  same  size  and  thickness, 
but  we  are  not  told  whether  it  is  to  be  of  tinted  or  white 
card.  The  stamp  will  be  the  same  as  the  corresponding  ad  ■ 
hesive,  as  the  original  die  is  co  be  used.  Our  envelopes  are 
to  be  in  paper  of  three  colours — white,  yellow,  and  blue. 
Columbus's  bust,  I  presume,  will  figure  on  the  impres- 
sions, as  nothing  is  said  to  the  contrary.  The  American 
Bank-Note  Co.  will  most  probably  be  entrusted  with  the 
execution  of  the  above ;  and,  as  soon  as  they  appear,  I 
shall  take  care  to  send  you  specimens. 

According  to  a  government  decree,  dated  January  27th, 
local  posts  have  been  established  here  since  the  8th  inst. 
The  postage  charged  is  2  c.  per  letter,  whatever  be  its 
weight. 

I  enclose  a  specimen  of  the  second  emission  of  post 
cards.  To  call  it  a  "  card"  is,  however,  a  misnomer,  as 
you  will  perceive  that  it  is  made  of  thick  blue  laid  paper. 
The  card,  I  fancy,  was  found  too  expensive,  i.e.,  if  manu- 
factured here. 

There  must  be  a  great  scarcity  of  postage  stamps  in 
Bolivia,  if  Ave  may  judge  by  the  number  of  fiscals  which 
are  used  for  postal  purposes ;  if  anything,  they  are  used 
more  now  than  at  first. 

Begging  you  will  excuse  the  length  of  this  letter, 
I  remain,  dear  Sir, 

Tours  obediently, 

Valparaiso.  L.  W.  M. 


RUSSIAN  LOCAL  STAMP;  SHELSINGFORS,  &c. 
To  the  Editor  o/"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 
Sih, — I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  give  you  some  information 
respecting  the  design  of  the  Russian  local  stamps.  I  will 
begin  by  saying  that  those  designs  are,  without  doubt, 
the  arms  of  the  towns,  with  few  exceptions  (those  of 
Charkoff,  for  instance)  ;  but  their  explanation,  not  easy 


by  itself,  becomes  still  more  difficult  on  account  of  the 
bad  execution.  All  that  I  know  about  them^at  present  is 
this: 

Soumy. — The  name  "  Soumy"  is  the  plural  number  of 
the  word  "Souma,"  meaning  bag;  this  is  the  reason  of 
the  strange  coat  of  arms  of  that  town.  I  have  a  blue  spe- 
cimen, value  1  kop.,  with  the  1  changed  into  5  by  red  ink. 

Tamboff. — liee-hive ;  bee-keeping  being  very  much 
spread,  the  bee-hive  is  the  armorial  design  not  only  of 
the  town,  but  also  of  the  government  (province)  of  Tam- 
bow.      This  is  why  it  reappears  on  the  stamps  of  Shatzk. 

In  three  other  stamps  I  have  found  explanations  of  one 
half  of  the  design,  viz.  :— 

Bogorodsk. — The  design  of  the  lower  part  is  to  be  a 
weaving-loom  or  a  spinning-wheel,  an  emblem  of  the 
cottou  works  and  silk  manufactories  of  the  town.  The 
upper  part  represents  the  arms  of  the  government  of 
Moscow. 

Belozersk. — 3  kopecs.  The  fish  indicate  the  situation  of 
the  town  near  the  Beloe  Ozero  (White  Lake),  fish  being 
the  principal  trade  article.  The  town  is  one  of  the  oldest 
in  Russia.  Sineus,  a  brother  of  Rjurik,  who  came  to 
Russia  with  him,  in  862  (of  Norman  origin),  took  his  seat 
there. 

Borovichi  is  situated  on  the  river  Msta,  which  forms  a 
connecting  link  in  the  canal  system  which  unites  the 
Baltic  to  the  Caspian  sea.  The  design  in  the  right  half 
of  the  stamp  (a  kind  of  staircase)  is  a  lock  or  sluice,  an 
illustration  of  the  cataracts  of  the  Msta,  near  Borovichi. 

Berdjansk  is  a  Black  Sea — or  rather  Azow — seaport, 
therefore  the  anchor.  This  town  is  a  contrast  to  Novgorod, 
Pskoff,  and  Belozersk,  since  its  existence  dates  from 
1827,  and  the  title  of  town  wTas  conferred  on  it  but  in  1835. 

To  the  description  of  the  Yaldai  mountains  I  have  only 
to  add  that  the  highest  points  are  of  840  and  900  feet  (and 
not  1200). 

The  names  of  the  following  towns  are  erroneously  spelt 
in  your  list,  letters  being  omitted  : — 

Atkar         should  ba  Atkars&. 
Egorieff  ,,        Egorieffs£. 

Shatz  ,,         Shatz/j. 

Shadrin  ,,         ShadrinsA'. 

The  well-known  stamps  of  Livonia  must  undoubtedly 
be  classed  amongst  the  local  stamps,  since  they  do  the 
same  duty. 

The  stamp  for  Helsingfors,  of  which  an  illustration  is 
given  in  vol.  viii.,  page  151  of  your  magazine,  is  a  hum- 
bug. I  wrote  about  it  to  the  private  company  which  is 
authorised  to  issue  those  stamps,  and  wras  told  that  the 
well-known  three  stamps  are  the  only  ones  that  have  been 
issued. 

Russian  post  cards  are  to  appear  in  May,  with  3  kop. 
and  5  kop.  stamps  impressed  on  them  ;  but  those  without 
stamps  are  not  to  be  withdrawn. 

Hoping  that  this  communication  may  be  of  some  use  to 
you, 

I  remain,  dear  Sir, 

Tours  truly, 

Petersburg.  E.  PLESKE. 

THE  ALBUM  QUESTION. 
To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Sir, — I  see  from  the  letter  of  j-our  correspondent,  E.  S., 
in  the  January  number  of  the  magazine,  that  the  ques- 
tion of  a  suitable  and  permanent  stamp  album  is  as  far 
from  solution  as  ever. 

I  have  tried  both  prepared  and  blank  albums.  The  first 
I  condemn  without  reserve,  except  for  beginners.  To  the 
second  I  have  the  same  objection  as  E.  S. ;  as  he  says, 


80 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


"One  leaves  spaces  for  stamps  which  never  turn  up,  aud 
one  does  not  leave  spaces  for  such  as  do." 

I  have  never  seen  any  of  the  albums  on  the  "crotchet" 
plan,  but  from  some  allusions  I  have  seen  made  to  them 
in  the  magazines,  I  fancy  they  are  not  -without  their  dis- 
advantages. 

Thinking  these  things  over  a  few  days  ago,  it  struck 
me  that  real  permanent  albums  would  never  be  attainable 
till  they  were  made  on  something  like  the  same  pi-ineiple 
as  the  photographic  albums,  of  course  with  considerable 
difference.  I  shall  proceed  to  explain  as  well  as  I  can  the 
manner  in  which  I  think  they  ought  to  be  got  up. 

In  the  first  place,  the  leaves  would  have  to  be  made  of 
three  sheets  of  paper,  glued  into  one,  after  being  properly 
prepared.  The  first  would  forni  the  back  of  the  page  ;  the 
middle  one  should  have  spaces  cleanly  cut  out  of  it,  all  uni- 
form, and  the  exact  size  of  the  mounts  to  which  the  stamps 
would  have  to  be  hinged ;  the  third  would  form  the  face 
of  the  page,  with  spaces  cut  to  correspond  with  the  middle 
one,  but  the  sixteenth  of  an  inch  less  at  the  top  and  bot- 
tom, to  overlap  the  mount  and  keep  it  in  its  place  ;  or  the 
overlapping  might  be  at  the  corners,  if  it  were  found  to  be 
better. 

There  would  have  to  be  a  space  at  the  top  of  each  page, 
formed  in  a  similar  way,  in  which  to  insert  the  name  of 
each  country.  It  would  have  to  be  long  enough  to  admit 
of  the  longest  name,  as  well  as  the  shortest. 

As  the  spaces  and  mounts  would  all  be  of  one  uniform 
size,  the  stamps  could  be  arranged  to  suit  each  collector's 
taste,  and  rearranged  at  pleasure,  if  he  wished  to  make 
any  change. 

If  the  stamps  were  mounted  on  common  paper,  instead 
of  card,  it  would  obviate  the  necessity  of  guards,  as  the 
stamps  would  lie  on  the  same  level  as  the  face  of  the  page. 

A  collector  wishing  to  examine  or  rearrange  a  speci- 
men, could,  by  inserting  the  point  of  a  penknife  under  the 
edge  of  the  mount,  raise  it  from  its  place  in  a  moment ;  a 
whole  page,  name  and  all,  could  be  transferred  to  any 
other  part  of  the  book  in  a  few  seconds.  "When  more 
space  was  required,  all  that  would  bs  needed  would  be  a 
new  album,  uniform  with  the  other,  to  which  the  stamps 
of  one  division  of  the  world  could  be  removed  without 
the  slightest  damage  to  the  first  one,  which  would  still  be 
as  useful  as  ever. 

There  would  be  no  printing  required,  except  the  title- 
page.  The  names  of  the  countries  might  be  had  separately. 
A  plain  border  round  each  space,  and  a  tasteful  one  round 
each  page,  would  improve  the  appearance  of  the  b^ok. 

I  think  any  enterprising  publisher,  who  thought  there 
was  anything  in  it,  might  have  a  small  specimen  page 
prepared  with  spaces,  say,  for  half  a  dozen  stamps  and 
name.  Any  collector  could  procure  one  of  these  for  a 
trifle,  and  judge  of  the  method  before  anything  furrher 
was  done.  If  approved  of,  then  a  permanent  album  might 
be  brought  out,  and  the  long  vexed  question  set  at  rest. 

The  form,  size,  and  get-up  of  the  book,  if  the  method 
were  approved,  might  be  decided  by  the  majority  of  col- 
lectors themselves  ;  for  my  own  part,  I  prefer  the  oblong 
form.  The  binding  should  be  strong  and  substantial,  and 
not  a  thing  to  fall  to  pieces,  or  run  out  of  shape,  in  a  few 
months. 

I  enclose  a  small  specimen  page  (hand-made  and  rough, 
of  course)  ;  it  will  show  you  at  a  glance  what  I  have 
tried  to  explain  in  this  letter. 

I  am,  Sir,  vours  respectfullv, 

Alston,  Cumberland.  WM.  VIPOND. 

[We  cannot  say  we  approve  of  our  friend's  suggestions,  for  we  f<-ar  that 
the  expense  would  he  enormous,  and  excessive  care  voald  be  required  in 
mounting  and  handling  stamps  thus  arranged.  That  the  i-flf.  et  wi  old 
1*>  good  we  do  not  doubt,  but  we  do  not  think  it  would  exceed  that  pro- 
duced by  stamps  well  arranged  in  a  blank  album  well  supplied  with 
guards.— Ed.] 


ANSWERS  TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 

A  G.  E.,  St.  Petersburg. — "We  have  been  obliged  to 
suppress  our  yearly  catalogue  of  emissions,  as  we  find 
it  takes  up  too  much  space. 

II.  C.  Mortox,  Dublin. — "We  regret  we  cannot  find 
space  for  your  article  on  forgeries.  The  exposure  of  for- 
geries only  scotches  the  snake,  the  exposure  of  those  who 
sell  them  kills  it  outright. 

G.  C.  Sutton. — The  deep  shade  of  the  2-5  kr.  Austria 
has  already  been  noticed. — The  issue  of  the  30  c.  Hong- 
Kong  mauve  has  also  been  chronicled. — The  Portuguese 
120  reis  stamp,  of  which  you  give  a  sketch,  belongs  to  the 
current  series. 

Miss  0.,  Sedbury  Park. — "We  presume  the  stamps  to 
which  you  refer  are  the  reissued  envelopes  of  sundry  Ger- 
man states.  Au  adhesive  stamp  is  mounted  over  the 
original  embossed  design,  and  then  the  "minute  grey 
figures"  are  impressed  over  the  whole. 

W.  P.  B.,  Belfast.— We  do  not  think  the  6  c.  United 
States  dark  rose  is  worthy  of  special  notice. — The  system 
adopted  by  many  private  firms  of  punching  out  their 
initials  across  the  postage  stamps  they  use  has  already 
been  noticed  in  these  pages,  and,  we  may  add,  it  is  no\V 
coming  into  very  general  favour. 

L.  0  ,  Bedford,  wishes  to  have  an  explanation  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  money-order  cards  and  envelopes  are 
used.  Do  the  impressed  stamps,  he  asks,  represent  the 
postage  and  the  fee  combined  :  Is  the  card  or  envelope 
sent  by  the  person  who  obtains  the  order,  and  is  the 
amount  of  the  order  paid  against  presentation  of  the  card 
or  envelope,  as  the  case  may  be  ?  Lastly,  can  private 
communications  be  written  on  the  former  or  enclosed  in 
the  latter  ?  "We  solicit  information  from  our  German  cor- 
respondents on  these  points. 

J.  H.  H.,  Hemel  Hempstead. — Many  thanks  for  com- 
munication of  the  "  penny  post  "  marks,  which  we  notice 
elsewhere. — We  cannot  give  you  any  information  re- 
specting the  London  Gazette  fourpenny  impressed  stamp  ; 
it  probably  represents  duty  and  postage. — What  you  sup- 
pose to  be  one  of  Mr.  Lowe's  original  match  stamps  is 
only  a  copy  of  the  design  cut  out  of  one  of  Messrs.  Bryant 
£  May's  recent  trade  circulars. 

Mr."  E.  Plessle,  St.  Petersburg,  writes: — "Have  you 
ever  seen  a  4  c.  of  Spain,  issue  1S65,  printed  in  blue 
(dark)  and  pink,  exactly  as  the  12  c.  of  that  issue,  thi 
oval  being  pink  and  the  frame  blue  ?  The  stamp  is  un- 
perf orated  and  unused.  I  bDught  it  of  your  publishers' 
agent  here,  from  one  of  their  sheets.  The  price  was  not 
high,  so  that  I  suppose  the  erreur  d 'impression  had  not 
been  observed."  This  is  a  well-known  proof,  and  not  a 
stamp. 

E.  M.  S. — This  correspondent  sends  us  a  specimen  of 
the  four  annas  India,  1S66.  prjnted  light  blue  of  the  same 
shade  as  the  \  anna,  18-58.  The  usual  colour  of  this 
stamp  is  green,  and  we  have  ourselves  very  little  doubt 
that  it  has  been  chemically  changed,  for  green  is  a  very 
easy  colour  to  manipulate.  Our  correspondent  has  put 
the'  stamp  in  boiling  water,  without  any  fresh  change 
resulting ;  but  this  proves  nothing,  as  the  blue  shade 
would  be  gained  by  discharging  one  of  the  ingredients  of 
the  green,  and  nut  by  the  addition  of  any  fresh  com- 
ponent.— E.  M.  S.  has  an  English  embossed  penny 
envelope  stamp  on  threaded  paper,  dated  1860  ;  and 
inquires  how  the  employment  of  threaded  paper  at  that 
time  can  be  explained.  The  post-office  discontinued 
using  it  in  185."/  ;  and  the  only  explanation  we  can 
-  _  gest  is.  that  a  small  remnant  of  this  paper  was  found, 
and  worked  off  in  1860. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


81 


THE    GORDIAN   KNOT    OF    STAMP 
COLLECTING. 

BY   OVEKY   TAYLOR. 

The  Gordian  knot  is  none  other  than  the 
collection  of  envelopes.  In  the  dark  ages  of 
philately,  collectors  cnt  ont  the  stamps,  and 
nothing  but  the  stamps  ;  subsequently,  it  be- 
came the  practice  to  cut  out  the  corner  of 
the  envelope,  so  that  the  impressed  stamp 
might  be  shown  in  the  centre  of  a  square 
border ;  and  in  the  full  light  of  these  latter 
days,  the  collection  of  the  entire  envelope  is 
inculcated  as  the  only  correct  and  reasonable 
plan.  How  far  it  has  ever  been  adopted  by 
the  general  collecting  public  is  a  question, 
and  that  it  is  not  viewed  with  universal 
satisfaction  is  proved  by  the  following  spirited 
letter,  which  appeared  in  the  May  number  of 
the  Stamp-Collector's  Journal : — 

"ENTIRE"  v.  "CUT"  ENVELOPES. 
Sir.  —The  subject  named  at  the  head  of  my  letter  may- 
appear  perhaps  a  somewhat  antiquated  one,  but  as  a  col- 
lector of  many  years'  standing,  I  may  without  offence,  I 
hope,  be  allowed  for  a  moment  to  revive  it.  When  first  I 
began  to  take  an  interest  in  stamps,  the  pages  of  Lallier 
and  Moens  were  unknown  ;  magazines  were  yet  unborn, 
and  the  best  of  English  collections  numbered  something 
short  of  500  varieties.  At  that  early  date,  therefore,  I  need 
hardly  say  that  the  "entire"  envelope  school  was,  if 
existent,  confined  to  a  few  choice  spiri.s.  Of  course  your 
humble  servant  had  a  firm  belief  in  scissors— a  belief 
which  held  its  ground  till  some  five  years  ago.  Then 
came  a  reaction.  The  arguments  brought  forward  by  the 
"  entire"  school  seemed  unanswerable.  To  cut  and  trim 
was  in  other  words  a  "gothic  "  practice  !  Still,  a  weak- 
ness remained  for  brightening  the  pages  of  one's  albums 
with  the  cameo-like  impressions  of  this  and  other  envelope- 
emitting  states.  I  had  no  choice,  therefore,  but  to  keep 
stationery  samples  in  order  to  be  orthodox,  and  to  insert 
mangled  specimens  for  the  sake  of  beauty.  The  worst, 
however,  of  the  matter  is,  that  while  many  a  one  is 
interested  in  examining  the  books  displaying  tlie  adhesives 
and  envelopes  in  juxtaposition,  few  care  to  con  the  con- 
tents of  a  cabinet  filled  with  covers  of  every  conceivable 
length,  breadth,  and  substance.  In  spite,  therefore,  of  a 
by  no  means  shabby  collection  of  uncut  envelopes,  I  am 
again  falling  back  'into  my  old  way  of  thinking,  and  the 
study  of  the  able  papers  of  late  contributed  by  Dr.  Magnus 
to  the  Timbre- Pu>te,  and  by  "  A  Parisian  Collector  "  to 
The  Philatelist,  combines  with  the  reason  above  given  to 
lead  me  to  abandon  my  present  duplicate  method.  After 
all,  what  does  the  "  entire  "  system  amount  to  ?  We 
are  told  that  in  many  cases  it  is  only  by  having  whole 
copies  that  we  can  judge  between  originals  and  reprints. 
Granted.  But  then  this  can  at  best  only  apply  so  long  as 
we  are  purchasing  copies.  If  we  obtain  them  entire,  and 
are  duly  satisfied  that  we  have  gotten  the  real  Simon 
Pures,  why  should  we  be  obliged,  for  the  sake  of  retain- 
ing an  unwieldy  expanse  of  paper,  to  banish  them  to 
another  receptacle  far  from  their  foster -brethren,  the 
adhesives  ?   And  then,  again,  if  the  reprints  are  so  exactly 

VOL.  X.     Xo.  113. 


reproductions  of  the  originals,  why,  in  the  name  of  com- 
mon sense,  are  they  less  valuable"?  It  is  all  very  well 
that  record  of  every  peculiarity  should  be  registered  in  the 
magazines ;  but  for  every  practical  purpose  surely  it  is 
enough  that  the  brand,  which  sets  apart  the  envelope  from 
common  purposes,  and  dedicates  it  to  postal  uses,  be 
preserved. 

Philately  is  a  science,  and  stationery  may  one  day, 
perchance,  become  a  science  also ;  but  if  they  are  not 
distinct  subjects,  then  chalk  and  cheese  are  not  unlike. 
Let  every  variety  be,  by  all  means,  collected  which  is  a 
variety  of  the  stamp  proper,  or  which  tends  to  alter  its 
appearance.  An  impression  on  laid,  whether  adhesive  or 
envelope,  is  quite  distinct  from  one  on  wove  paper.  The 
same  holds  good  also  of  those  struck  on  white  or  coloured ; 
but  why,  when  I  have  an  envelope,  say  6in.  by  3^in.,  I 
ought  also  to  have  another,  which  differs  merely  in  size,  and 
is,  say,  Tin.  by  4in.,  beats  me  "  entirely."  Is  it  not,  sir, 
sheer  humbug  to  burthen  one's  collection,  for  instance, 
with  all  the  varieties  of  Victoria  ?  Why  the  seals  are  as 
unmeaning  as  the  vagaries  of  a  simpleton.  Or  take  our 
own  newspaper  bands  :  the  day  that  introduced  those 
most  useful  articles  did  so  in  a  score  of  sizes  and  shapes. 
Had  each  variation  then  its  special  philatelical  lesson  ? 
Bosh! 

I  would  not  for  the  world  appear  ungrateful  for  the 
learned  labours  of  such  men  as  Dr.  Magnus,  "A  Parisian 
Collector,"  or  Mr.  Pemberton.  Without  such  giants  the 
atlas-burthen  of  the  intricacies  of  the  science  of  stamps 
would  long  ago  have  crushed  its  unlearned  disciples  out 
of  life ;  but  this  I  do  protest  against— that  names 
worthily  held  in  honour  should,  under  the  cloak  of 
philately,  be  prostituted  to  the  advancement  of  a  system 
which  is  nothing  less  than  an  incubus  that  collectors 
cannot,  unless  they  be  in  the  trunk-lining  business, 
endure. 

I  am,  Sir, 

Tours  faithfully, 

Limerick,  April  3,  1872.  WALTER  YASS. 

In  this  letter  there  is  much  that  I  cannot 
agree  with,  but  I  cannot  refuse  to  admit 
that  there  is  a  certain  substratum  of  truth  in 
the  arguments  it  contains.  I  am  by  no 
means  disposed  to  condemn  the  practice  of 
collecting  entire  envelopes ;  indeed,  I  was  at 
one  time  pretty  well  convinced  of  its  necessity. 
I  gave  in  my  own  adhesion  to  it,  my  in- 
voluntary scepticism  being  for  the  time  over- 
powered by  the  force  and  cogency  of  its  ad- 
vocates' reasoning ;  and  logically,  it  may  be, 
they  still  have  the  best  of  the  argument. 
But  as  time  has  passed,  and  the  doctrines  of 
the  entire-envelope  school  have  been  gra- 
dually developed,  I  have  not  been  able  to 
disguise  from  myself  the  fact,  that  the 
absolute  veto  placed  by  our  most  valued 
writers  on  the  collection  of  cut  envelopes  is 
doing  more  harm  than  good.  At  the  risk, 
therefore,  of  being  charged  with  inconsist- 
ency and  retrograde  tendencies,  I  have  de- 
cided on  raising  my  humble  voice  to  urge  the 
re-admission  of  cut  envelopes  into  favour. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


I  start  with  the  proposition,  that  it  is  un- 
wise to  advocate  a  system  of  collecting  which 
is  likely  to  have  for  effect  unduly  to  limit  the 
number  of  philatelists  ;     aud   I  consider  as 
philatelists  all  those  who  collect  stamps  other 
than  for  the  mere  purpose  of  making  a  show 
of  them.     He  who  collects  stamps  because  of 
their  historical  value,  and  as  the  visible  signs 
of  an  important  step  forward  in  the  march 
of  civilization,  is  as  much  a  philatelist  as  is 
he   who   studies   the  different  kinds  of  per- 
foration, paper,  &c.     Equally  worthy  of  the 
title  are  those  who  see  their  way  to  the  col- 
lection of  specimens,  marking  the  really  note- 
worthy phases  in  the  history  of  a  type,  but 
whose  natural  tendency  is  against  following    ! 
out  philately  in  its  minor  ramifications.      I 
am  persuaded  that  collectors  of  this  second   i 
class    form    the    majority    of  the    philatelic    j 
body.     They  read  the  leading  journals,  they 
take   an    intelligent    interest    in    all  that  is 
going  on.  and  regard  should  be  had  to  their 
opinions    by    those   whose    studies     qualify 
them  for  the  post  of  instructors.     It  is  this    . 
numerous  class  which  I  believe  objects  to 
being  forced  into  collecting  uncut  envelopes, 
and  it  is  on  their  behalf  that  some  compromise 
should  be  come  to.     I  should  be  sorry  to  see 
stamp  collecting    become    the    pursuit  of   a 
select  few,   or  hedged  in    with    restrictions    j 
which  would  tend  to  render  it  a  penance  in- 
stead of  a  pleasure.     Philately  should  be  for 
collectors,   and  not    collectors  for   philately. 
True   it  is,  persons    who    desire  to  become 
collectors  have  not    to  join   any    particular 
society,  nor  sign  a  set  of  rules  binding  them 
to  the  acceptance  of  any  one  special  mode  of 
collecting,    but  all    who    are    in    earnest    in 
collecting  take  in   the  principal  periodicals, 
and  if  the  articles  which  appear  in  them  are 
not  intended  to  influence  the  readers,  then 
there  is  no  use  in  writing  them.     The  first 
desire  of  the  ordinary  philatelist  is  to  collect 
envelopes,  as  well  as  adhesives,  on  the  most 
approved  method  ;  he  looks  to  the  acknow- 
ledged authorities  for  guidance  ;   their  dicta 
have   weight  with    him,    and   he  finds   that 
they  nearly  all  insist  that  the  envelope  issues 
can  only  be  properly  represented  by  uncut 
specimens.       Furthermore,    he    finds   in  the 
English  and  foreign  magazines  that  not  only 
must  the  envelopes  be  collected  entire,  but 


also  that  every  variety  of  shape  ought  also  to 
be  taken.  If  he  attempts  to  follow  this  dic- 
tum, he  finds  himself  confronted  by  in- 
superable difficulties.  Uncut  envelopes  are 
difficult  to  get,  especially  those  of  the  obsolete 
issues  ;  they  are  costly,  and  last,  but  not  least, 
they  are  excessively  cumbersome.  Xo  pub- 
lished album  provides  space  for  entire  speci- 
mens, and  the  different  plans  for  mounting 
them,  in  special  books,  though  highly  in- 
genious, require  a  great  expenditure  of  time, 
if  not  of  money.  What  then-  can  he  do  F  If 
he  does  not  abjure  collecting  in  disgust,  he 
either  continues  under  the  thraldom  of  a 
teaching  against  which  he  inwardly  rebels, 
procuring  uncut  envelopes  when  and  how  he 
can,  and  hoping  that  some  day  a  simple  and 
feasible  plan  may  be  proposed  for  mounting 
them,  or  he  shuts  his  eyes  to  what  he  logically 
ought  to  do,  and  "goes  in"  for  cut  en- 
velopes. Thence  arises  a  discord  between 
the  teaching  of  the  standard  authorities  and 
the  practice  of  the  ordinary  collector.  This 
discord  I  should  like  to  see  terminated,  and 
doctrine  made  to  square  with  practice. 

I  honour  the  labours  of  the  few  erudite 
philatelists  who,  with  special  opportunities 
for  the  complete  study  of  envelopes,  take  a 
pleasure  in  the  collection  and  chronicling  of 
entire  specimens.  We  less  scientific  phi- 
latelists profit  by  their  labours ;  but  I  think 
the  pleasure  they  have  derived  from  the  dis- 
covery of  secondary  and  unimportant  va- 
rieties, has  led  them  to  attach  far  too  much 
importance  to  uncut  specimens,  and  that 
they  have  strained  authority  too  far  in 
branding  the  collection  of  cut  copies  as 
absurd  and  reprehensible.  The  interminable 
varieties,  consisting  in  size,  shape,  design  of 
flap-stamp,  and  extent  of  gummed  surface, 
can  never  be  collected  by  any  but  a  limited 
number  of  connoisseurs,  and  can  never  be 
made  to  interest  ordinary  collectors  ;  nor  will 
all  the  reasoning  in  the  world  suffice  to  over- 
come the  repugnance  of  these  latter  to  the 
collection  of  what  the  writer  of  the  above 
letter  calls  "  stationery."  In  entire  envelopes 
there  is  a  broad  expanse  of  blank  paper,  and 
the  really  interesting  portion  forms  but  one 
corner  of  the  whole.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said 
that  the  flap  is  also  interesting,  but  it  can 
be   so   only  to  very  few  persons,  for   most 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


83 


collectors  will  concentrate  all  their  attention 
on  the  design,  and  they  will  not  be  convinced 
against  their  will  that  they  ought  to  study 
every  portion  of  the  envelope.  It  is  of  no 
use  insisting  on  the  acceptance  of  uncut 
envelopes  alone  as  the  only  proper  thing  to 
do,  whilst  the  sense  of  collectors  is  against 
their  acceptance  ;  and  in  asserting  that  the 
great  body  of  collectors  prefer  cut  specimens, 
I  challenge  contradiction.  The  teaching  of 
our  leaders  is  decidedly  in  advance  of  the 
age,  and,  with  all  respect  to  them,  I  venture 
to  urge  that  the  collection  of  cut  envelopes 
should  be  recognised  by  them  to  be  per- 
missible and  sensible.  Let  them  look  facts  in 
the  face,  and,  taking  a  practical  view  of  the 
difficulties  which  surround  the  collection  of 
uncut  specimens,  coupled  with  the  animus 
against  them,  withdraw  their  veto  ;  otherwise 
they  may  be  assured  that,  by  pushing  their 
arguments  to  what  I  admit  may  be  their 
logical  consequences,  the  collection  of  en- 
velopes, the  cut  with  the  uncut,  will  die  out. 
Extreme  opinions  in  this  and  other  matters 
are  gaining  too  much  ground,  and  though  no 
one  would  question  the  right  of  their  owners 
to  entertain  and  act  on  them,  some  protest 
is  needed  against  the  aggressive  and  uncom- 
promising way  in  which  they  are  preached. 
Limitations  in  the  mode  of  collecting  may 
lead  to  limitations  in  the  number  of  collectors, 
but  it  would  be  better  that  philately  should 
not  be  considered  to  be  a  science,  than  that 
there  should  be  no  philatelists.  Everyone 
who  collects  likes  to  feel  that  he  has  a  collec- 
tion, and  by  insisting  that  only  by  accepting 
uncut  envelopes  are  the  canons  of  the  science 
conformed  to,  you  greatly  diminish  the 
pleasure  he  takes  in  his  cut  copies. 

I  have  no  desire  to  play  the  alarmist,  but 
I  cannot  repress  the  fear  that  the  gradual 
extinction  of  stamp  collecting  may  result 
from  the  attempt  to  inculcate  too  absolutely 
the  collection  of  uncut  envelopes  and 
secondar}^  varieties  of  adhesives.  Let  us, 
then,  frankly  admit  that  the  admission  of 
such  envelopes  and  such  varieties  does  and 
should  form  the  exception,  and  not  the  rule;  the 
pleasure  of  the  few,  and  not  the  duty  of  the 
many ;  then,  I  believe,  the  future  prospects 
of  philately  will  be  clearer  and  brighter. 


PAPERS   FOR  BEGINNERS.—  No.   XX. 

BY    OVERY   TAYLOR. 

EUROPE, 

THE   DANCTBIAN  PRINCIPALITIES; 

Jpunsntar, 

(Continued  from  page  71.) 
The  interest  felt  in  the  two  Moldavian  series 
arises  principally  from  the  circumstances 
surrounding  their  origin,  and  the  doubtful 
points  connected  with  their  own  history ; 
whilst  the  interest  felt  in  the  emissions  of 
the  United  Principalities  appears  to  me  to 
spring,  in  no  small  degree,  from  the  fact 
that  they  prominently  illustrate  the  course 
of  events  in  those  countries,  and  form  an 
excellent  example  of  the  value  of  stamps  as 
teachers.  Before  recapitulating  the  various 
issues,  which  in  themselves  offer  compara- 
tively little  difficulty,  it  will  be  as  well  to 
refer  as  briefly  as  possible  to  recent  Rou- 
manian history. 

At  the  close  of  the  Russian  war,  the 
provinces  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia  were 
governed  by  their  respective  bospodars.  A 
commission  was  then  sent  out  with  the 
ostensible  object  of  ascertaining  the  in- 
clinations of  the  two  peoples  ;  and,  as  a 
consequence  of  its  report,  the  great  powers 
settled — by  the  supplementary  Convention  of 
Paris,  signed  in  1858 — that  the  two  provinces 
should  remain  disunited  as  before.  The 
ardent  desire  of  the  inhabitants  was,  however, 
for  union  ;  and  their  wishes  were  remarkably 
advanced  by  the  death  of  both  the  reigning 
hospodars  a  few  months  afterwards.  No 
new  candidate  could  openly  "  stand  "  for  the 
two  provinces,  but  if  each  province  chose 
spontaneously  and  separately  to  elect  as  their 
ruler  one  and  the  same  man,  the  provisions 
of  the  Paris  treaty  might  be  evaded.  This 
was  just  what  they  did  in  respect  of  Prince 
Couza  ;  and  on  the  24th  of  January,  1859, 
the  two  countries  were  united  under  his  rule, 
and  styled  The  United  Principalities.  In 
1861  the  great  powers  recognised  the  union, 
and  appointed  that  the  provinces  should 
thereafter  be  styled  Boumauia,  the  name  they 
have  since  borne.  Until  the  recognition 
of  the  union,  however,  each  province  con- 
tinued to  be  separately  administered,  and 
there     were,     consequently,     two     sets     of 


84 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


ministers  and  authorities.  In  1862,  however, 
the  two  administrations  were  fused  in  one, 
and  the  government  offices  were  transferred 
from  Jassy  to  Bucharest.  In  I860  a  revo- 
lution took  place ;  Prince  Couza  was  de- 
throned and  fled  the  country,  which  then 
began  to  look  out  for  a  new  ruler.  Prince 
Charles  of  Hohenzollern,  an  "unattached" 
subaltern  of  his  house,  was  deemed  to  be  the 
man  for  the  place ;  but  for  certain  state 
reasons  it  became  necessary  to  keep  his 
nomination  a  secret.  He  left  Prussia  quietly, 
travelled  through  Hungary  disguised  as  a 
wine  merchant's  traveller,  and,  armed  with 
a  box  of  samples,  crossed  the  border,  and 
was  then  welcomed  by  his  adherents  and 
publicly  proclaimed.  He  still  occupies  the 
throne,  but  he  has  to  do  with  a  set  of 
politicians  difficult  to  manage,  and  has  more 
than  once  been  on  the  point  of  throwing  up 
the  reins  of  government.  Only  very  recently 
there  was  a  question  of  his  resigning,  but 
the  difficulty  appears  to  have  been  tided  over, 
at  any  rate  for  the  present. 

Coming  now  to  the  postal  emissions,  we 
find  that  the  first  series  for  the  United 
Principalities  was  issued  on  New  Year's 
Day,  1862.*  The  design  is  a  grotesque 
one,  but  not  without  mean- 
ing. It  represents  the  arms 
of  the  united  countries — 
Moldavia  and  Wallachia, — 
and  is  the  only  one  (if  we 
except  an  apocryphal  essay) 
^30\PAR  TJ  on  which  the  Wallachian  ea- 
gle appears.  The  execution 
is  no  better  than  that  of  the  preceding  type. 
This  series  remained  in  use  for  four  3-ears. 
No  variations  took  place  in  the  rough  design, 
but  there  are  not  a  few  colour  varieties,  and 
advanced  collectors  distinguish  two  emissions 
—  one  on  thin  pelure,  and  the  other  on  thin 
laid  paper.  M.  Moens  gives  the  date  of 
issue  of  the  latter,  which  is  the  rarer  of  the 
two,  as  1864 ;  but  there  is  some  doubt  as  to 
this  being  the  correct  one.  It  is  a  question 
which  can  only  be  decided  by  a  careful  com- 
parison of  the  obliterations  on  the  two  sets. 
The  colours,  as  given  by  M.  Moens,  are  as 
follows  :  — 


*  M.  Rondot  gives  the  date  as  being  the  25tb'June,  1862  ; 
but  M.  Moens'  correspondent  is.  more  likely  to  be  right. 


On  pelure  paper, — 3   paras,     citron. 
„        „  „  3       „         yellow. 

„        „  „  3       „         orange. 

„        ,,  „  6       ,,         carmine. 

,,        ,,  „  6       ,,         pale  vermilion. 

„        „  „  6       „         bright  ditto. 

„        „  „         30       „         light  blue. 

,,        ,,  „         30       ,,         Prussian  blue. 

„        „  ,,         30       „         dull  dark  blue. 

On  laid  paper, — 3       ,,         yellow. 
„       „        „  3       „  orange. 

,,       ,,        „  6       „  carmine. 

„       „        „  6       „         dark  red. 

„  ,,  „  30  ,,  Prussian  blue. 
,,  „  „  30  ,,  dull  dark  blue. 
As  the  same  colours  are  found  in  both 
series,  they  may  have  been  issued  con- 
currently. At  any  rate,  this  is  a  point  of 
which  a  beginner  may  defer  the  considera- 
tion ;  as  if  he  gets  one  or  two  shades  of  each 
value,  he  will  have  a  sufficient  number  for 
his  purpose.  All  the  values  may  be  obtained 
with  ease.  The  series  was  in  use  for  a  long 
time  after  philately  became  an  established 
pursuit,  and  the  principal  dealers  got  over 
large  supplies.  Besides  this,  when  the 
succeeding  series  (head  of  Couza)  was 
withdrawn  from  circulation,  these  1862 
stamps  were  again  used  for  a  short  time;  and 
I  believe  that  during,  or  after  their  second 
currency,  the  different  values  were  supplied 
in  the  sheet  by  the  Roumanian  post-office, 
obliterated  with  the  diamond  cancelling 
mark,  first  used  on  the  Couza  stamps. 

It  will  be   observed  that  the  values  are 

lower   than    those  of  the   preceding  series. 

A  fresh  revision  of  the  tariff  took  place  prior 

!    to  the  emission  of  this  first  Roumanian  set. 

The  service,  which  had  previously  been  irre- 

I    gularly  conducted,  was  reorganised  in  1862 

b}r  a  certain  Mr.  Manovarda  and  others,  and 

1   their  efforts  to  secure  a  well-worked  postal 

1    system   appear    to    have    gained    a   certain 

!    success.      Of  the  three  values,  the  lowest 

1    (3  par.)  was   for  journals,  the  6  paras  for 

I    letters  li  for  the  town,"f  and  the  30  paras 

!    for  letters  from  town  to  town. 

f  "For  the  town  "  is  the  expression  used  by  H.  Moens' 
correspondent,  but  I  cannot  make  out  whether  he  intends 
to  allude  specially  to  Bucharest,  or  whether  he  means 
that  6  paras  was  the  rate  for  letters  posted  and  delivered 
in  any  one  town. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


85 


A  further  advance  in  postal  reform  led  to 
the  suppression  of  the  series  of  J  862.  From 
3,  6,  and  30  paras,  the  rates  were  reduced 
to  2,  5,  and  20  paras.  Dr.  Magnus  suggests 
that  the  desire  to  evidence  the  union  by 
employing  stamps  bearing  no  reminder  of 
the  former  separation  had  also  something  to 
do  with  the  adoption  of  the  type  issued  in 
1865,  and  distinguished  by  its  bearing  the 
effigy  of  Prince  Couza.  May  it  not  be  that 
the  prince  was  desirous  of  seeing  his  portrait 
on  the  stamps,  and  may  not  also  the  author- 
ities have  been  somewhat  ashamed  of  the 
1862  design  ?  The  latter  seems  to  be  the 
most  probable  cause  of  any. 

The  Couza  series  is  by  no  means  a  chef- 
d'oeuvre  of  lithography,  but  it  is  a  vast  im- 
provement on  its  predeces- 
sors. It  was  home-made, 
and  I  might  almost  say 
(looking  at  the  condition  of 
art  in  the  country), as  a  natu- 
ral consequence,  the  design 
and  legend  are  not  absolute- 
ly identical  for  the  three  values.  The  details 
of  the  drawing,  especially  of  the  neck,  are 
dissimilar,  and  the  letters  are  not  alike  in 
size  on  all  the  values.  Of  the  20  paras  two 
very  distinct  and  generally  admitted  types 
exist,  which  I  believe  I  may  claim  the 
honour  of  having  been  the  first  to  observe,* 
and  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  verbatim 
Dr.  Magnus'  analysis  of  them  : — 

"  Type  1. — Forehead  receding ;  a  few  more 
curls  of  hair  above. 

"  Nose  elongated,  triangular. 

"Lower  lip  covered  by  the  moustache. 

"  Beard  not  so  thick,  and  encroaching  less 
upon  the  chin. 

"  Neck  longer,  and  bordered  near  the 
front  with  a  range  of  small  oblique  lines. 

"  Section  of  the  neck  swelling  out  in  front 
but  very  little. 

"  The  0  of  the  20  in  each  angle  is  thicker 
and  more  irregular,  whilst,  at  the  same  time, 
it  is  much  smaller  than  the  2,  except  in  the 
upper  right  angle. 

"Type  2.— The  forehead  is  arched,  and 
has  fewer  locks  of  hair. 

"  Nose  rounded,  and  more  of  a  pug. 


*  Sec  The  Stamp-Collector'' s  Manaznte, 
111,  160. 


vol.   in.,  ,£>[) 


"  Lower  lip  plainly  detached  from  the  up- 
per. 

"  Beard  thicker  and  larger. 

"Neck  shorter,  and  swelling  out  but 
slightly  at  the  base,  with  few  or  none  of  the 
oblique  lines. 

"  Section  of  the  neck  showing  a  promi- 
nent and  swollen  point. 

"  The  0  of  20  is  narrower  and  higher  than 
the  2,  save  at  the  lower  left  angle. 

"  Lastly,  if  the  two  types  are  compared 
together,  it  will  be  found  thafcthe  first  type  is 
a  trifle  larger  each  way  than  the  second  type." 

The  dissimilarities  in  the  stamps  of  the 
other  two  values  examined  by  Dr.  Magnus 
are  less  striking,  and  considered  by  him  as 
insufficient  to  constitute  a  second  type ;  but 
with  regard  to  the  b  paras  I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  there  is  a  quite  distinct  variety, 
though  I  am  perhaps  alone  in  my  belief  on 
the  subject.  The  engraving  introduced 
above  is  the  one  which  was  given  in  The 
Stamp-Collector' 's  Magazine,  when  the  series 
first  made  its  appearance,  and  it  will  be 
noticed  that  the  corner  figures  in  the  lower 
angles  are  narrower  and  taller  than  those  of 
the  common  type.  Now,  I  had  the  opportu- 
nity of  examining,  if  not  the  identical  stamp 
from  which  the  engraver  copied,  at  any  rate, 
others  of  the  same  batch,  and  I  well  remem- 
ber that  these  corner  figures  in  the  stamp 
were  similar  in  shape  to  those  of  the  en- 
graving,— a  little  thinner  if  anything ;  and 
this  easily  recognisable  peculiarity  was  ac- 
companied by  other  and  lesser  differences, 
sufficient,  in  ray  opinion,  to  render  the  type 
worthy  of  being  chronicled  as  a  separate 
one.  It  has  been  suggested  to  me  that  this 
second  type  exists  only  as  a  proof,  and  such 
may  be  the  case,  though  my  own  recollection 
is  against  the  correctness  of  this  supposition. 
All  three  stamps  of  this  series  are  found 
in  a  number  of  shades  :  the  2  paras  in  yellow 
ochre,  light  chrome-yellow,  and  orange  ;  the 
5  paras  in  sky-blue  and  dark  blue;  the  20 
paras  in  pale  red,  red,  vermilion,  and  car- 
mine-red. The  lighter  colours  are,  generally 
speaking,  the  earliest-issued,  though  I  find 
that  the  orange  2  paras  appeared  contempo- 
raneously with  the  other  shades.  This  latter 
value  also  exists  on  laid  paper. 

This  series  had  only  a  short  circulation,  but 


86 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


its  stamps  have  never  been  in  the  least 
degree  rare.  In  1866  a  revolution  took 
place,  which  resulted  in  the  exit  of  Prince 
Couza  and  the  entrance  of  Prince  Charles, 
in  the  manner  already  related.  Prince 
Couza,  who  during  his  administration  had, 
it  is  stated,  succeeded  in  "feathering  his 
nest,"  when  his  presence  was  no  longer  re- 
quired in  Roumania,  philosophically  took  up 
his  abode  in  Paris,  where  he  probably  still 
resides.  There  was  to  have  been,  in  any 
case,  a  fresh  series  of  stamps,  and  a  number 
of  designs  were  prepared  for  the  inspection 
of  the  Roumanian  administration,  some  of 
of  which  afterwards  figured  as  specimens 
of  engraving  in  the  Paris  exhibition.  I 
refrain,  however,  from  noticing  them,  for 
as  a  whole  they  are  not  altogether  sur- 
rounded by  an  "  odour  of  sanctity  ;  "  on  the 
contrary,  there  is  a  certain  suspicious  air 
of  speculation  connected  with  them  all.  and 
hence  they  are  unsavoury  things  for  a  be- 
ginner to  meddle  with. 

On  the  1st  August,  1866,  appeared  the 
first  emission  bearing  the 
portrait  of  Prince  Charles  of 
Hohenzollern.  The  design 
is  too  well  known  to  need 
much  comment ;  suffice  it, 
then,  to  say  that  it  was 
printed  in  black  on  coloured 
paper.     It  was  first  issued. 


on  thick,  strongly- tinted  paper,  the  colours 
being  as  follows  : — 

2  parale      deep  yellow. 

5       „  blue. 

20       ,,  rose,  deep  rose. 

A  second  edition  was  afterwards  issued 
on  thinner  and  paler  tinted  paper,  viz.  :  — 

2  parale      light  yellow. 

5       „  blue. 

20       „  pale  rose. 

Both  editions  should  certainly  be  collected, 
as  it  is  evident  that  the  change  in  paper,  if 
not  in  colour,  running  through  the  whole 
series,  was  intentional.  The  framework  of 
each  value  was  separately  drawn,  though 
the  differences  in  the  2  and  5  paras  are 
hardly  important  enough  to  call  for  special 
notice.  Those  which  distinguish  the  20 
paras  are  sufficient  to  permit  of  the  chroni- 
cling   of  two   types.     The  most  prominent 


peculiarities  of  the  second  type  are  (1),  that 
the  border  on  the  upper  part  of  the  right 
side  runs  in  the  same  way  as  that  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  left ;  (2)  that  the  brick 
groundwork  is  more  open. 

In  1868  the  decimal  currency  was  adopted, 
the  lei  representing  the  franc,  and  the  bani 
the  centimes.  This  led  to  the  issue  of  a  new 
series,  differing  slightly  in  type  from  its 
predecessor.  The  same  portrait  filled  the 
circle,  but  a  kind  of  cross  superseded  the 
corner  figures,  and  the  border  pattern  is  of 
a  more  complicated  character  ;  the  ground 
also  is  formed  of  horizontal  lines  only.  The 
values  and  colours  are  as  follows : — 

2  bani  orange,  yellow. 

4     ,,  pale  blue  and  indigo. 

18     „  rose,  brick  red,  &  deep  scarlet. 

These  variations  of  shade  were  the  natural 
accompaniments  of  rough  printing.     In  1870 
a  fourth  value  appeared — the  3  bani  mauve 
and  bright  mauve — and  all  four  were  in  use 
concurrently  with  the  emission  of  1869,  and 
are  now  with  that  of  1871. 
These    latter    are    alike   in 
general  appearance,  but  differ 
in  one  important  particular — 
the     portrait.       The     1869 
stamps  bear  the  same  whis- 
kered profile  as  the  earlier 
issues,  but  thel871  setshows 
the  Prince  with  a  full  beard. 
The  design  of  the  1869  series  is  annexed ;  its 
colours  and  values  are  as  follows  : — 
yellow,  deep  orange, 
blue,  deep  blue,  bright  blue. 
red. 
orange,  with  oval  blue. 


5  bani 
10     „ 
15     „ 

25     „ 

50     „ 


blue, 


red. 


The  1871  set  reads:  — 


5 

5 

10 

10 
25 


bani 


vermilion. 

carmine. 

deep  blue. 

orange,  yellow. 

deep  brown. 
Very   recently  the    1871    type    has   been 
issued    perforated,    four    values   having    ap- 
peared, viz., 


5  bani, 
10     „ 
15     „ 

25     „ 


yellow, 
blue. 

vermilion, 
brown. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


87 


iHMtnnn/uEIJgai 


The  variation  in  the  colours  between  the 
5  and  10  bani  is  worthy  of  notice.  In  the 
1869  set,  and  also  in  the  new  perforated 
stamps  of  the  1871  type,  the  5  bani  is  found 
in  yellow  and  orange,  the  10  in  blue,  whilst 
in  the  unperforated  1871  issue  the  5  bani 
takes  the  colour  of  the  15  bani,  which  latter 
is  not  represented  at  all,  and  the  10  bani 
comes  out  in  the  original  hues  of  the  5  bani, 
as  well  as  in  blue. 

The  newspaper  bands 
are  all  that  now  remain 
P^^^^^^^S  for  notice.  There  have 
tjtl^'fflkHi  been  two,  of  which  the 
first,  issued  towards  the 
close  of  1870,  had  but  a 
short  circulation.  The 
design,  of  which  a  toler- 
ably faithful  representa- 
tion is  here  given,  was  lithographed  in  black, 
on  green,  bluish  green,  and  yellowish  green 
paper.  The  portrait  is  decidedly  the  most 
nattering  of  all  that  havef  appeared,  there 
being  an  air  of  intelligence  and  decision 
abont  it,  which  is  lacking  in  the  subsequent 
profiles.  In  February, 
1871,  the  current  type 
was  issued,  with  which  my 
readers  are,  doubtless, 
familiar.  It  is  printed  in 
blue,  on  yellow  paper. 
With  reference  to  the 
change  in  portrait,  it  may 
be  observed  that,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Portuguese,  the  Roumanian 
stamps  are  the  only  ones  on  which  alterations 
in  appearance,  caused  by  age,  are  sought  to 
be  depicted. 

THE  PRUSSIAN  SIEGE   OF  PARIS. 

We  have  received,  during  the  last  month, 
communications  from  several  correspondents 
confirming  "  Warden's  "  statement,  in  our 
May  number,  to  the  effect]  that  the  imperial 
stamps  were  used  during  the  Prussian  siege, 
and  that  down  to  as  late  a  period  as  January, 
1871.  When  we  wrote  we  had  not  seen  or 
heard  of  the  arrival  of  any  such  stamps, 
and  we  had  in  mind  Dr.  Magnus's  letter  to 
Le  Timbre-Poste,  in  which  he  described  the  , 
perforated  Republic  type,  of  which  the  10  and  i 


20  c.  were  issued  on  the  13th  October,  1870, 
as  having  been  emitted  at  that  early  period 
of  the  siege  in  compliance  with  the  wishes 
of  certain  ardent  republican  papers,  and 
but  very  few  balloons  had  left  prior  to  that 
date. 


NEWLY-ISSUED    OR   INEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Sierra  Leone. — The  new  series,  first  re- 
ferred to  in  our  February  number,  has 
just  made  its  appearance  ;  and  but  for  the 
circumstance  oF  our  engraver  having  dis- 
appointed us,  we  should  now  have  the  plea- 
sure of  giving  our  readers  a  representation 
of  the  highest  denomination.  The  design  is 
the  same  for  all  four  of  the  new  values, 
viz.  : — 

One  penny  carmine-red 

Threepence  nankin-yellow 

Fourpence  *  blue 

One  shilling"  light  green 

The  old  sixpence  is  maintained  in  design, 
but  is  now  issued  in  deep  lilac.  The  five 
stamps  bear  the  crown  and  CG.  watermark, 
but  in  the  specimens  before  us  it  is  placed 
transversely,  and  is  by  no  means  easy  to 
distinguish.  The  portrait  is  the  same  as 
that  on  the  St.  Christopher,  Straits  Settle- 
ments, and  other  recent  issues.  On  our 
examining  the  stamps  of  these  colonies,  we 
were  struck  with  a  slight  bat  hitherto 
unnoticed  peculiarity  in  the  diadem.  Be- 
tween the  points  of  the  diadem  the  heraldic 
flowers  are  represented  ;  there  are,  at  any 
rate,  two  thistles  and  a  shamrock  to  be  seen. 
The  crown  on  the  6  annas  8  pies  Indian  is  of 
another  pattern.  The  design  of  the  new 
Sierra  Leone  stamps  is  exceedingly  simple, 
we  might  almost  say  bald,  but  the  execution 
and  the  colours  are,  as  usual,  of  the  highest 
degree  of  excellence. 

Great  Britain. — With  reference  to  the 
handstamped  impressions  described  last 
month,  and  consisting  of  the  names  of 
towns  followed  by  the  words  penny  post,  a 
correspondent  (H.  C.  R.)  writes  us  that  he 
possesses  several,  and  one  of  them  is  struck 
on  an  envelope  bearing  the  penny  adhesive, 
and  the  date  stamp,  May  18,  1842.  It  would 
thus  seem  that  the  above  inscription  was  a 


88 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


I§ 

SgCORREOSJgg 

1 

> 
< 

■^31 

a 

life 

mere  supplementary  postmark ;  but  our 
Brighton  contemporary,  who  also  notices 
them,  describes  one,  composed  of  the  words 
pexbith  penny  post,  as  being  handstamped 
on  a  letter  received  in  1834  by  a  clergyman 
at  Bourne,  in  Lincolnshire,  from  Penrith  in 
Cumberland ;  and,  adds  our  confrere,  "  it 
was  the  sole  mark  on  the  letter,  except  that 
of  the  post  town."  This  intelligence  com- 
plicates the  matter,  which  is  becoming 
enigmatical,  and  we  would  fain  solicit  the 
assistance  of  Mr.  Pearson  Hill  to  obtain  the 
solution. 

Mexico.— We  have  to  thank  Mr.  W.  P. 
Brown,  of  New  York,  for  his  courtesy  in 
sending  us  three  specimens 
of  an  entirely  new  series  for 
this  country,  which  we  be- 
lieve we  are  the  first  to  de- 
scribe. Our  illustration  of 
the  design  is  a  flattering  one, 
and  obviates  the  necessity  of 
a  detailed  description.  The 
execution  of  the  originals  is  execrable,  and 
the  colours  are  no  better.  The  three  values 
are  as  follows  :  — 

12  centavos  blue. 

25        „  pale  red. 

50        ,,  dull  yellow. 

The  12  centavos  is  imperforated  ;  the 
other  two  values  are  perforated,  but  in  a 
rough  way,  and  apparently  only  with  a 
roulette.  The  most  striking  thing  about 
them  is  their  backs,  which  are  covered  with 
a  ground  of  undulating  light  blue  lines, 
forming,  in  the  entire  sheet,  a  kind  of  "  shot  " 
pattern.  The  upturned  profile  we  presume 
to  be  that  of  the  triumphant  president, 
Juarez.  The  stamps  from  which  we  describe 
bear  the  imprint  Mexico  in  German  text  on 
the  left,  and  "1—72"  on  the  right;  and 
from  these  figures  we  assume  the  issue  began 
with  the  year.  Probably  a  6  c.  and  a  100  c. 
will  shortly  be  forthcoming. 

France. — On  the  10th  ult.  the  first  specimen 
of  the  advanced  guard  of  the  new  series  came 
into  our  possession  in  the  shape  of  a  two- 
centime  red-brown.  Like  the  Bordeaux 
stump  of  that  value,  it  is  a  simple  copy  of  the 
imperial  2  c,  from  which  latter  it  differs  only 
in  the  substitution  of  the  1818  engraved 
profile    of  the   Republic  for   the   emperor's 


effigy,  and  in  the  change  of  inscription  from 
empire  francais  to  repcb.  franc.  The  per- 
foration is  the  same  as  before.  We  do  not 
engrave  this  type,  as  a  wood-cut  could  not 
j  make  manifest  the  finish  and  the  secondary 
details  which  distinguish  the  new-comer 
from  its  lithographed  predecessors  ;  but  we 
may  say  that  its  general  effect  is  very  good, 
and  the  old  profile  appears  to  have  been 
slightly  touched  up  here  and  there.  In 
view  of  recent  announcements  of  a  forth- 
coming series,  the  issue  of  this  composite 
design  may  call  forth  some  surprise,  but  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  object  which 
is  said  to  be  sought  afrer  in  the  design  of  the 
projected  stamps  is  the  clear  enunciation  of 
the  value.  The  existing  stamps  intended  for 
letter  postage  are  lacking  in  that  essential 
particular,  but  the  design  of  the  imperial  1,  2, 
and  4  c.  fulfils  the  condition  of  legibility,  and 
— the  distinction  between  letter  and  journal 
stamps  being  maintained, — it  has  con- 
sequently been  reissued  with  the  necessary 
alterations  to  suit  the  change  of  government. 
We  look  none  the  less  certainly  for  a  change 
in  type  in  the  forthcoming  stamps  of  higher 
values,  whilst  we  may  safely  predict  that  the 
1818  profile  of  the  republic  will  be  utilised 
to  form  the  centre  piece  in  all. 

The  Belgian  journal  discusses  the  claims 
to  credit  of  a  20  c.  adhesive  of  the  Bordeaux 
type  surcharged  with  the  figures  25,  presum- 
ably on  account  of  a  lack  of  25  c.  stamps  in 
the  issuing  office.  We  do  not  doubt  that  it 
is  a  humbug,  although  certain  French  fiscal 
stamps  are  found  bearing  similar  sur- 
charges ;  thus,  the  old  lilac  20  c.  "  Timbre 
de  dimension  "  has  now  the  imprint  "  5  c.  en 
slts,"  in  black,  running  along  the  top,  but 
then  the  addition  is  common  to  all  the 
stamps  now  used. 

Portugal. — There  is  some  talk,  says  Le 
Tlmbre-Poste,  of  issuing  a  new  series  of 
Portuguese  stamps.  It  has  been  discovered 
that  some  of  the  post-office  clerks  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  taking  off  the  unused  stamps 
employed  to  prepay  letters  passing  through 
their  hands,  and  substituting  obliterated 
stamps  in  their  place — the  profit  on  the 
transaction  going,  of  course,  into  the  thieves' 
pockets.  If  this  be  the  real  reason  for 
changing  the  type,  it  seems  to  us  to  be  a 


THE    STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


89 


omitted, 
paper  in 


very  droll  one,  for  the  dishonest  clerks  are 
sure  to  be  careful  to  cash  the  stolen  stamps 
before  these  latter  are  superseded. 

Chili. — We  are  indebted  to  the  publishers 
of  The  Philatelist  for  the  loan  of  the  annexed 
cut,  which  is  stated 
in  our  contempo-. 
rary's  last  number  to 
be  an  approximate 
representation  of 
one  of  the  intended 
new  envelopes.  The 
design  is  the  same 
as  that  of  the  ad- 
hesives,  except  that 
the  word  COLON  is 
The  stamp  is  embossed  on  white 
the  colour  of  the  corresponding 
adhesive,  and  it  is  understood  to  be  the 
production  of  a  Chilian  artist.  We  had 
hoped  for  better  things. 

Tolima. — To  our  "Brighton  contemporary 
belongs  the  credit  of  introducing  to  philatelic 
circles  two  higher  denominations  for  this 
Colombian  state.  They  are  the  50  centavos 
and  1  peso,  both  bearing,  as  will  be  seen 
from  annexed 
engravings,  the 
same  arms  as 
the  5  and  10  c, 
already  noticed 
in  this  journal, 
but  each  char- 
acterised by  a 
different  dispo- 
sition of  the 
same  inscriptions.  On  the  50  c.  the  inscrip- 
tions above  the  arms  are  so  oddly  arranged, 
that  at  first  they  appear  to  read  as  correos 
del  estado  de  Colombia.  The  colour  of  this 
stamp  is  a  very  dark  green,  that  of  the 
peso  is  an  ineffective  rosy-tinted  red. 

Portuguese  Indies. — M.  Moens  is  firm  in 
his  belief  of  the  genuineness  of  the  design  of 
which  we  gave  an  illustration  last  month, 
and  has  received  information  from  Lisbon 
to  the  effect  that  it  is  perfectly  authentic. 
It  is  said  to  have  been  made  by  an  iron- 
monger's workman  at  Groa,  and  to  have  been 
in  circulation  since  the  beginning  of  the  year. 
It  is  one  of  a  series  composed  of  the  following 
values  and  colours  : — 


10  re 

is            black 

20     , 

,              vermilion-red 

40     , 

,              blue 

100     , 

,              green 

200     , 

,              yellow 

300     , 

,              bright  violet 

600     , 

J                                     55                     55 

900     , 

1                                    55                      55 

There  are  many  varieties  of  shade,  and  at 
least  one  distinct  type  for  each  value.  All  the 
stamps  seen  by  M.  Moens  are  perforated  16, 
except  two  20  reis — oneperf.  13| ;  the  other, 
12-|.  These  details  come  with  telling  force, 
and  the  fact  that  they  are  derived  from  Lisbon 
gives  them  additional  weight ;  and  yet  we 
cannot  say  they  inspire  us  with  all  the  con- 
fidence we  doubtless  ought  to  feel.  It  seems 
to  us  rather  strange  that  a  colony  which  has 
a  perforating  machine  at  hand  should  be 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to  an  ironmonger 
for  the  dies  for  its  stamps !  Again,  why 
such  high  values,  as  300,  600,  and  900  reis  ? 
and  why  should  Groa  be  allowed  to  issue 
stamps  when  Madeira  is  denied  the  privilege 
of  a  separate  device  ?  No  one  but  M. 
Moens  appears  to  have  seen  these  stamps, 
but  he  has  had  the  opportunity  of  examining 
"a  limited  number."  We  hope  he  has  not 
been  deceived,  and  he  will  pardon  us,  should 
we  find  we  have  been  erring  on  the  side  of 
incredulity. 

Holland. — The  principle  of  "reply-paid  " 
post  cards  has  spread  to  Holland,  and  we 
have  its  first  double  card  before  us.  It  is 
folded  across  so  as  to  form  two  leaves.  On 
the  face  of  each  leaf  is  printed  in  lilac  the 
same  design  as  that  on  the  single  cards,  with 
the  stamp  in  the  corner  indicating  the  value  ; 
but  the  foot-note  which  appears  on  the  single 
ones  is  not  inserted  on  the  double  ones,  and 
consequently  an  additional  line  is  given  for 
the  address*.  The  outer  leaf  shows  under 
the  word  briefkaart  the  inscription  antwoord 
betaald,  and  the  inner  one  has  vooruitbetaald 
antwoord.  The  cards  are  buff,  and  the  lilac 
is  of  a  deeper  tint  than  the  impression  on 
their  single  brethren. 

From  Le  Timbre-Poste  we  get  information 
of  the  issue  .of  post  cards  by  the  Dutch 
General  Service  Society  of  Rotterdam,  price 
10  centimes  each.  They  are  to  be  de- 
livered   within  the   town   of  Rotterdam  by 


90 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


the  society's  messengers.  We  think  that 
the  simple  mention  of  this  issue  is  sufficient. 
It  may  be  genuine,  but  we  have  no  great 
confidence  in  it,  and  if  private  hand-delivered 
cards  are  once  accepted,  there  will  be  a 
resurrection  of  Hamburg  local  makers,  who 
will  be  ready  to  furnish  us  with  Scheerenbeck 
cards,  C.  Van  Diemen  cards,  Krantz  cards, 
or  other  similar  rubbish. 

Hungary. — Money-order  post  cards,  with 
inscriptions  in  two  languages,  have  been 
issued  with  impressions  from  the  die  of  the 
5  and  10  kreuzer  adhesives,  respectively,  in 
the  corner  ;  the  former  in  light  brown,  and 
the  latter  in  black.  We  defer  recommend- 
ing their  acceptance  until  we  obtain  an 
explanation  of  the  exact  service  performed 
by  the  stamps.*  The  correspondent  from 
whom  we  have  received  notice  of  their  issue 
also  informs  us  that,  after  a  few  weeks' 
currency,  they  have  been  withdrawn  to  give 
place  to  similar  cards  with  inscriptions  in 
German  only,  and  he  points  to  this  in  proof 
of  the  centralising  tendencies  of  the  present 
Austro-Hungarian  government,  which  he 
thinks  are  likely  to  lead  to  the  suppression 
of  the  other  cards  with  duplicate  inscriptions 
in  two  languages. 

Roumania.  —  The  current  series,  with 
bearded  portrait,  is  now  perforated.  The 
values  which  have  come  over  are  the 
5  bani  yellow,  10  b.  blue,  15  b.  vermilion, 
and  25  b.  brown. 

Norway. — Drontheim. — The  \  and  2  skilling 
have  now  reached  us.  The  former  is  printed 
in  blue,  and  the  latter  in  green.  The  design 
is  in  all  respects  the  same  as  that  of  the 
1  skilling. 

THE   BLACK   CABINET. 

In  a  recent  number  we  reviewed  the  second 
part  of  a  work  written  by  a  M.  Emile  Lam- 
bry,  an  ex-employe  of  the  French  post- 
office,  entitled  Les  Mysteres  du  Cabinet  Noir 
sous  V Empire,  et  la  poste  sous  la  Commune. 
Pursuant  to  the  promise  then  made,  we  now 

*  [The  desired  explanation  has  since  reached  us,  in  the 
shape  of  a  letter,  which  will  be  found  in  our  correspond- 
ence columns ;  and  it  seems  to  us  that  a  good  case  has 
been  made  out  for  accepting  these  interesting  impressions. 
—Ed.] 


purpose  extracting  some  of  the  interesting, 
and  we  trust  authentic,  details  given  in  the 
first  part  of  the  pamphlet  respecting  the 
Black  Cabinet  and  its  conductor. 

The  .system  of  opening  suspected  letters 
is  legally  authorised  in  France  to  a  limited 
extent  only,  and  under  conditions  which, 
if  complied  with,  would  secure  a  proper 
amount  of  legal  formality  in  the  operations, 
and  would  therefore  prevent  any  improper 
and  secret  espionage.  Under  Charles  X. 
and  Louis  Philippe,  letters  were  occasionally 
opened,  and  a  "  black  cabinet,"  in  which  the 
business  was  carried  on,  existed ;  but  the 
practice  is  believed  not  to  have  been  carried 
to  any  outrageous  extent,  and  under  the 
regime  of  Arago,  in  1848,  it  was  suppressed, 
or,  if  it  continued  in  existence,  its  operations 
were  conducted  unknown  even  to  him,  but 
under  the  empire  it  flourished,  and  acquired 
a  bad  pre-eminence. 

The  mysterious  cabinet  itself  is  described 
as  a  spacious,  well  lighted,  but  scantily-fur- 
nished chamber.  Between  its  two  windows 
is  a  nest  of  pigeon-holes,  or  frames,  con- 
taining a  number  of  cardboard  boxes,  which 
were  filled  with  duplicates  of  the  date  stamps 
of  all  the  French  and  most  of  the  principal 
foreign  post-offices,  together  with  seals 
bearing  all  kinds  of  combinations  of  initials, 
and  others  with  arms,  and  others  again  with 
odd  devices.  All  that  an  engraver's  imagi- 
nation  could  invent  apropos  of  the  desired 
purpose  is  found  in  this  cabinet,  together 
with  brushes  and  colours  to  bring  back  to 
its  primitive  shade  the  wax  after  it  had  been 
tampered  with  ;  and  the  work  was  done  on 
a  small  library-table. 

The  dishonourable  office  of  chief  opener 
of  letters  was  occupied  by  a  man  named 
Simonel,  who,  from  M.  Lambry's  account, 
seems  to  have  been  singularly  well-fitted  for 
the  post  he  held.  At  first  Simonel  only 
stopped  letters  in  obedience  to  a  list  sent  to 
him  from  the  prefecture  of  police.  These 
letters  were  put  in  a  bag  and  forwarded  to 
the  prefecture,  where  they  were  opened  and 
read.  This  proceeding  was  not  illegal,  as 
the  prefect  of  police  had,  and  still  has,  like 
the  Home  Secretary  with  us,  a  legal  right  to 
open  any  letters  lie  thought  fit.  But  M. 
Simonel  had  not  been  long  in  office,  when  he 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


9i 


was  allowed  to  go  a  step  further,  and  to  open 
and  read  letters  himself,  on  condition,  it 
would  seem,  that  he  concealed  the  fact  of 
their  having  been  tampered  with  from  those 
to  whom  they  were  addressed.  Simonel's 
way  of  proceeding  was  as  follows. 

When  a  suspected  letter  fell  into  his  hands, 
he  inserted  the  point  of  a  very  thin  knife, 
specially  made  for  the  purpose,  under  the 
seal ;  then,  by  dint  of  steady  pressure,  and 
thanks  to  the  skill  acquired  by  long  practice, 
he  removed  the  seal  whole  and  without 
tearing  the  envelope.  The  letter  read  and,  if 
necessary,  copied,  Simonel  slightly  warmed 
the  bottom  of  the  seal,  so  as  to  melt  the  wax 
sufficiently  to  attach  it  again  to  the  paper. 
By  this  means  he  was  enabled  to  defy 
detection.  When  letters  were  fastened  with 
gum  or  a  wafer,  it  was  still  easier  to  open 
them  ;  a  few  drops  of  hot  water  were  all  that 
was  necessary. 

Foreign  mail-bags  passing  through  Paris 
were  not  respected,  any  more  than  letters  to 
be  delivered  in  France,  by  the  unscrupulous 
Simonel,  who  had  armed  himself  with  a 
collection  of  the  seals  of  every  foreign  govern- 
ment. He  was  even  provided  with  different 
sorts  of  foreign  string,  in  order  to  disarm 
suspicion.  It  was  only  in  extreme  cases, 
however,  that  he  went  so  far  as  to  cut  the 
string  with  which  mail-bags  from  abroad  are 
fastened,  as  he  generally  contrived  to  strain 
it  enough  to  allow  him  to  open  the  bag  and 
take  out  the  contents.  ISTo  letters  were 
safe  from  his  prying  eyes,  and  even  M. 
Rothschild's  financial  correspondence  was 
read  by  the  indefatigable  head  of  the  "  Black 
Cabinet,"  who  also  was  in  the  habit  of 
opening  all  the  Empress's  letters  to  her 
friends,  and  submitting  them  to  her  imperial 
husband. 

In  the  exercise  of  his  disreputable  functions 
he  acquired  such  skill  and  used  such  judg- 
ment, that  on  examining  the  contents  of  the 
letter-bags  which  were  brought  to  him  from 
the  general  office,  he  frequently  took  on  him- 
self to  open  the  correspondence  of  previously 
unsuspected  persons,  and  found  his  exami- 
nation rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  news 
which,  if  not  of  a  compromising  character, 
was  at  least  found  to  interest  one  or  other 
of    his    numerous    patrons.      For,  in    fact, 


M.  Simonel  worked  for  everyone.  Often 
towards  the  close  of  the  Empire  he  handed 
the  letters  of  President  Rouher  to  the 
Minister  Ollivier,  and  those  of  the  Minister 
Ollivier  to  the  President  Rouher. 

Simonel  was  rarely  defeated,  and  still 
more  rarely  discovered ;  yet  there  were  oc- 
casions when  he  was  nearly  baffled.  A 
diplomatist,  having  acquired  the  certainty 
that  his  correspondence  was  opened,  inserted 
a  minute  steel  point  in  the  seal,  producing 
a  small  hole  in  the  impression,  only  visible 
with  the  aid  of  a  magnifying  glass.  He  ad- 
dressed the  letter  to  the  minister  of  his  own 
country,  and,  by  telegraph,  he  requested  the 
latter  to  return  it  to  him.  When  it  came 
back  he  found  that  the  seal  bore  the  same 
impression  as  when  forwarded,  but  the  hole 
made  by  the  steel  point  was  absent.  Simonel 
had  missed  the  point  in  one  sense  ;  the  di- 
plomatist did  so  in  the  other,  and  armed  with 
this  proof  of  tampering,  he  called  on  the  post- 
master-general;  but  the  latter,  though  at 
first  taken  aback,  soon  recovered  his  sang 
froid,  and  with  admirable  assurance  replied 
simply,  "  That  has  not  been  done  in  France." 
That  time  Simonel  escaped  exposure. 

During  the  Mexican  expedition,  the  Em- 
peror— not  placing  entire  reliance  on  his 
generals'  official  communications — caused 
their  private  letters  to  be  opened.  A  briga- 
dier-general, who  had  reason  to  suspect  that 
his  letters  to  his  wife  were  read  before  they 
reached  her,  wrote  M.  Simonel  the  following 
little  note,  which  positively  took  the  spy  by 
surprise : — 

To  the  Chief  of  the  Black  Cabinet, 

Sir, — The  first  time  that  you  allow  yourself  to  open  a 
letter  to  or  from  me,  I  shall  give  myself  the  pleasure  of 
cutting  your  ears  off. 

(Signed) 

GENERAL    X. 

Simonel  posted  off  to  an  influential  per- 
sonage, a  patron  of  his,  to  whom  he  showed 
the  note.  After  glancing  over  it,  the  latter, 
with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulder,  consolingly 
replied, — "  Sapristi,  my  friend,  you  had 
better  take  care  of  yourself ;  I  know  General 
X,  and  he  is  quite  capable  of  cutting  your 
ears  off."  We  may  be  sure  Simonel  took  the 
advice. 

Once    only   was   the   chief  of  the  Black 


92 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


Cabinet  completely — to  nse  a  vulgar  ex- 
pression— "sold."  A  Fribourg  paper  pub- 
lished certain  diatribes  on  the  imperial 
family,  of  which  an  ex-professor  at  Paris  was 
believed  to  be  the  author.  Simonel  set  him- 
self to  work  to  find  out  the  truth,  and  went 
personally  to  the  Swiss  frontier  to  investi- 
gate the  matter.  He  was  present  when  the 
letters  were  sorted  in  the  country  post- 
offices  near  Fribourg,  and  at  the  closing  of 
the  bags  ;  he  even  journeyed  in  the  travelling 
post-office  of  the  Lyons  railway,  and  in- 
spected every  letter  that  was  flung  in  at  the 
different  stations  along  the  line,  but  all  to  no 
purpose.  He  never  suspected  that  the  letters 
were  conveyed  from  Paris  to  Lyons  by  an 
engine-stoker,  and  there  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  a  confidant. 

A  few  years  ago  M.  Vandal,  the  last 
Director-general  of  the  post-office  under 
the  Empire,  was  interpellated  in  the  Corps 
Legislatif  with  regard  to  the  existence  of  the 
'•  Cabinet  Noir,;;  on  which  occasion  he  indig- 
nantly denied  that  any  department  for  the 
opening  of  letters  existed  at  the  Hotel  des 
Postes.  Five  deputies  were  named,  at  M. 
Vandal's  request,  to  inspect  the  post-office 
personally,  and  certify  to  the  correctness  of 
his  statement.  Of  course,  when  they  came  to 
make  their  inspection,  M.  Vandal  was  careful 
to  show  them  all  departments  of  the  post- 
office,  except  the  "  Cabinet  Noir.;;  In  con- 
clusion, M.  Lambry  is  careful  to  inform  us 
that  the  present  Republican  government 
abstains  from  such  evil  work,  and  that  as 
soon  as  M.  Rampont  came  into  office  Simo- 
nel was  dismissed.  Let  us  nope  so.  There 
is  something  very  French  in  the  method  of 
manipulation  above  related.  We  manage 
such  things,  for  once,  better  in  England. 

NOTES    ON   THE   UNITED    STATES 
LOCALS. 

BY    W.    DUDLEY   ATLEE. 

VII. 

BROADWAY   POST    OFFICE. 

Feom  Mr.  S.  A.  Taylor  I  get  the  following 
particulars  concerning  this  post : — It  was  for 
many  years  located  at  4223,  Broadway,  New 
York  City.     In  15-50  it  was  owned  or  man- 


aged by  James  C.  Harriot  :  in  the  following 
year  the  proprietor  was  J.  C.  Dunham.  It 
is  doubtful  how  long  it  remained  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  latter,  but  in  1858  it  had 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  B. 
Lockwood,  who  held  it  till  1560,  when  it  be- 
came the  property  of  Charles  Miller,  the 
last  owner.  It  has  now  been  closed  some 
few  years. 

The  rates  charged  were  two  cents  for 
city  delivery,  and  for  letters  carried  to  the 
general  post-office:  one  cent  for  home  letters, 
and  two  cents  for  foreign  letters. 

By  special  contract  with  Boyd's  City  Post, 
that  express  delivered  the  city  letters  of  the 
Broadway  post-office,  the  latter  only  em- 
ploying one  messenger,  whose  sole  duty  it 
was  to  go  to  and  from  the  general  post- 
office  and  Boyd's  office. 

The  stamp  was  nicely  executed,  having 
for  design  a  locomotive  going  to  left,  with 
broad-way  arched  in  open  letters  above,  and 
POST-ofhcb  in  outlined  solid  letters  below. 
All  within  an  oblong  double  linear  octagon. 
Black  on  white,  and  also  (according  to  Mr. 
Scott),  gold  on  black. 

There  are  two  forgeries,  both  very  gen- 
erally circulated.  The  following  are  the 
chief  points  of  difference  between  the 
original  and  the  counterfeits  : — 

Genuine. — The  outer  franie  is  thick  upon 
the  left  side,  the  bottom,  and  both  lower 
angles  :  in  other  parts  it  is  thin.  The  inner 
line  is  exactly  the  reverse.  ad  almost 
touches  the  frame.  There  is  not  much 
smoke  from  the  engine,  and  what  the:  i 
undulating,  and  below  the  lettering,  until  it 
comes  between  the  first  two  letters  of  way. 
Lower  inscription  is  very  uneven,  and 
lereibly  nearer  to  the  line  under  loco- 
motive than  to  the  frame.  office  is  at 
some  distance  from  post,  and  slants  from  it 
into  the  frame. 

F:  geries. — There  are  two  ;  the  best  has 
each,  line  of  the  frame,  respectively,  of  the 
same  thickness  throughout.  The  smoke  is 
very  marked  under  ad.  Lower  inscription 
about  midway  between  the  engine  and  the 
frame.  Words  close  together.  The  other 
imitation  is  very  poor,  and  can  easily  be 
detected  by  comparing  with  the  test  of  the 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


93 


MESSENKOPES    UNION    SQUARE    POST-OFFICE. 

A  New  York  post.  Stamp  was  a  transverse 
oval,  with  lamp  or  fountain  in  centre,  mes- 
senkopes  above,  union  square  at  sides  of 
device,  post  office  below.  Black  on  green 
glazed  paper. 

Genuine. — Name  in  thin  fancy  letters  ; 
address  in  thin  upright  capitals  ;  POST  office 
in  thick  letters.  No  stops  anywhere.  It  is 
impossible  to  say,  with  any  certainty,  what 
the  central  device  is,  but  it  seems  to  be  a 
figure  within  a  basin,  holding  a  staff  of  some 
kind,  for  the  said  staff  can  be  traced  in  out- 
line until  it  almost  touches  the  second  per- 
pendicular stroke  of  N.      Single-lined  frame. 

Forgery. — This  may  be  instantly  detected 
by  having  a  double  linear  frame,  and  by  the 
bad  shape  of  the  figure  within  the  basin. 

pip's  daily  mail. 

This  post  was  in  existence  about  five  years 
since.  A  very  plain  stamp  was  used.  Within 
an  oblong  twisted  frame  is  the  inscription,  in 
six   lines,  pips  daily   mail,  one  cent.     Geo. 

ABRAHAMS,    STATIONER,    86,    HAMILTON     AVENUE, 
SOUTH    BROOKLYN,    N.    Y. 

Black  on  yellow. 
,,         pale  fawn. 
„         blue. 

The  last  is  the  rarest,  although  none  of  the 
varieties  are  easily  to  be  obtained. 

Gordon's  city  express. 

I  am  ignorant  of  the  locality  in  which 
this  post  carried.  The  stamp  was  a  double- 
lined  circle,  lettered  with  the  name  above 
and  below,  having  a  postman  in  the 
centre,  and  at  sides  the  value,  2  cts.  ;  all 
within  a  circle  of  a  single  line.  Black  on 
green  glazed  paper. 

Genuine. — Man's  right  hand  in  his  pocket ; 
head  thrown  somewhat  back,  causing  the 
brim  of  hat  to  slant  from  the  right ;  shading 
behind  right  leg  almost  upright,  and  on  a 
level  with  about  midway  between  the  figure 
2  and  c  of  city  ;  apostrophe  after  name  is 
above  the  lettering ;  2  flat,  and  at  a  little  dis- 
tance from  the  frame.  The  lower  words  at 
some  distance  from  each  other. 

Forged. — Man's  right  hand  is  visible  ; 
head  being  thrown  forward,  the  brim  of  hat 
slants   considerably  from   the  left;   shading 


behind    right    leg    follows    the    lettering ; 
figure  2  almost  close  to  the  circle. 

prince's  letter  express. 
This  post  was  until  quite  recently  (if  not 
still)  in  existence,  for  carrying  mail  matter 
between  Portland  (Maine)  and  Boston 
(Mass.).  The  proprietor  was  (or  is)  I.  H. 
Prince,  and  the  objects  of  the  express  are 
best  explained  by  the  following  extract 
from  the  American  Stamp  Mercury  : — 

By  the  present  mail  arrangements  between  Portland 
and  Boston,  the  afternoon  mail  closes  in  Portland  at 
about  3  p.m. ;  consequently,  letters  posted  after  that  hour 
have  to  wait  the  following  mail,  which  is  not  made  up 
until  the  next  morning,  and,  in  consequence,  letters 
posted  after  3  p.m.  are  not  delivered  in  Boston  until  noon 
of  the  following  day.  To  remedy  this  inconvenience  Mr. 
Prince  has  a  messenger,  who,  travelling  by  the  steamer 
which  leaves  Portland  at  6  p.m.,  takes  charge  of  all  let- 
ters which  are  handed  to  him  for  transmission  to  Boston  ; 
but  which  letters  must,  in  the  first  place,  have  a  United 
States  3  cent  stamp  affixed,  in  addition  to  which,  Mr. 
Prince  makes  a  charge  of  2  cents  for  his  trouble  in  con- 
veying them  to  Boston,  where,  at  an  early  hour  (usually 
before  6  o'clock  of  the  following  morning),  they  are  safely 
deposited  in  the  Boston  post-office,  and  are  ready  for  de- 
livery before  9  a.m.,  thus  making  a  saving  of  three  to  four 
hours'  time  in  transit,  at  an  extra  cost  of  two  cents. 

The  stamp  was  engraved  by  Lowell  & 
Brett,  of  Boston  ;  design,  a  steamer,  with 
letter  express  above,  and  a  fac-simile  of 
Mr.  Prince's  signature  below.  The  whole 
within  a  transverse  oval.  Black  on  white. 
This  stamp  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
counterfeited. 

BRAINARD    &    CO. 

This  firm  started  their  express  in  or 
abont  1845,  conveying  letters  between  New 
York,  Albany,  Troy,  and  the  intermediate 
places.  Only  one  stamp  was  emitted  ;  this 
is  found  in  black  and  in  blue,  always  upon 
white.  The  design  is  very  simple,  consisting 
of  a  large  ring,  lettered  brainard  &  CO.,  n.y. 
58,  wall  ST.,  and  having  in  the  centre  14, 

EXCHANGE,    ALBANY,    20    FOR    ONE     DOLL.,    TROY, 
230,    RIVER    ST. 

There  is  a  really  first-class  imitation,  only 
to  be  detected  by  careful  scrutiny. 

Genuine. — b  and  R  of  name  very  close  to- 
gether, d  rather  narrow  ;  the  8  only 
slightly  larger  above  than  below  ;  lettering 
of  wall  ST.  thin,  and  the  T  of  ST.  of  less 
height  than  the  preceding  letter ;  14,  ex- 
change in  small  type  ;  very  fine  period  after 


94 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


ALBANY,  and  again  after  troy,  the  letters  in 
each  of  these  words  small  and  separate ;  a 
slight  speck  after  for  ;  period  after  doll. 
on  a  line  with  the  period  after  CO.  ;  230 
river  ST.  same  size  type  as  that  of  upper 
address  ;  numeral  0  exactly  under  central 
stroke  of  t  ;  some  space  between  riyer  and 
ST. ;  bottom  of  v  flat. 

Forgery. — No  period  after  either  Albany  or 
troy,  and  no  speck  after  for.  ;  d  of  name 
wide.  Other  details  the  reverse  of  what 
they  are  in  the  genuine.  In  addition  to  this 
deceptive  counterfeit,  there  is  an  imitation 
from  a  rather  poor  wood-block.  It  varies 
from  its  archetype  in  the  same  points  as  the 
better  imposture. 

westervelt's  post. 

For  a  long  time,  like  most  European  col- 
lectors, my  faith  in  the  stamps  of  this  post 
— in  fact,  I  may  add,  in  the  post  itself — was 
but  little.  However,  from  the  evidence  of 
used  specimens,  and  of  a  communication 
from  the  proprietor  himself,  I  am  bound  to 
acknowledge  the  existence,  at  one  time, 
of  the  dispatch,  and  the  authenticity  of  its 
stamps. 

In  1861,  C.  H.  Westervelt  established  a 
post  between  the  villages  of  Chester,  Chester 
Depot,  and  East  Chester,  all  in  Orange 
county,  state  of  New  York.  This  concern 
was  carried  on  until  1868,  and  during  that 
time  three  distinct  types  of  adhesives,  and 
one  for  envelopes,  were  emitted. 

All  these  were  printed  upon  any  paper 
that  came  handy,  and  each  variety  was  of 
equal  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  proprietor;  but, 
let  it  be  distinctly  understood,  they  were  all 
used  for  franking  letters,  and  should,  therefore, 
be  collected. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  types  and 
colours  :  — 

1. WESTERVELT'S     POST,     CHESTER,     N.Y.,    in 

ihree  lines,  within  a  fancy  chain  frame.  Obi. 
rect. 

Red     on  yellow. 
Black  „  lavender. 
„       „  fawn. 
2. — Profile    to   left    of  Indian    chieftess ; 
westervelt's  above ;   post  below  ;    Chester, 
n.y  ,   at   sides.     All  within   a   fancy  frame. 
Rect. 


Red     on  yellow. 
„        „  fawn. 
,,         „  white. 
Black   „  yellow. 
„       „  fawn. 
„      „  white. 
3. — Full-face  portrait  of  General  Grant, 
within  a  solid  oval,  inscribed  with  name  and 
address,  as  before.     In  spandrels  the  figure 
2 ;   below,  cents  with   numerals,  again  re- 
peated on  each  side.     Rect. 
Red     on  yellow. 

„  drab. 
Black  „  yellow. 
„       „  white. 
„       „  pink. 
„       „  green. 
„       „  deep  rose. 
„       „  blue  letter-paper. 
Envelope. — American  eagle  within  an  oval 
band,  lettered  as  on  the  adhesives;  a  star  at 
each  side ;  oval,  upon  various  papers. 
Black. 
Red. 
There  are  some  labels   purporting   to  bo 
of  the  first  type,  but  they  are  very  different 
in  the  frame,  there  being  eight  large  orna- 
ments above  and  below,  instead  of  twelve 
small  ones,  as  in  the  genuine. 

POSTAL  CHIT-CHAT. 

The  Green  Bay  post-office  officials  do  not  like  to  answer 
questions.  The  following,  posted  over  the  general  de- 
livery, expresses  their  sentiments  :  " Price  of  three-cent 
stamps,  three  cents  each ;  licked  and  stuck,  five  cents 
each.  The  clock  will  answer  the  question,  "  Has  the  mail 
closed?" — New  York  Herald. 

Looking  after  the  Bawbees. — In  Edinburgh,  says 
the  Courant,  the  demand  for  halfpenny  post  cards  was  so 
great  on  Saturday,  the  30th  March  last,  that  many  would-be 
purchasers  had  to  leave  the  post-office  without  procuring 
the  quantities  they  required,  the  answer  being,  "Sold  out." 
The  cause  of  this  unusual  crowd  of  purchasers  was  the 
announcement,  that  on  and  after  April  1st  the  charge  for 
these  cards  would  be  increased  one  halfpenny  per  dozen. 

Letter  Addresses  in  Japan. — A  correspondent 
at  Hiogo  informs  us  that  for  letters  going  through  the 
Japanese  post  the  address  must  be  written  in  Japanese,  as 
well  as  in  English.  To  exemplify  the  way  in  which  the 
regulation  to  this  effect  is  complied  with,  he  sends  us  the 
envelope  of  a  letter.  On  the  envelope  itself  is  written,  in 
English,  the  address  of  the  person  to  whom  it  is  sent  {& 
resident  in  another  part  of  Japan),  and  over  this  address 
is  a  slip  of  the  usual  fibrous  tissue  paper  used  there,  gum- 
med down  to  the  envelope  on  one  side,  and  bearing  the 
address  in  Japanese  characters ;  this  can  be  lifted  up,  so 
as  to  disclose  the  English  inscription  beneath.    The  stamps 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


95 


are  fastened  over  the  flap  of  the  envelope.  They  are  two 
in  number,  the  indigo  and  the  vermilion,  and  our  cor- 
respondent states  that  they  are  worth,  together,  three 
cents,  or  three  halfpence  English,  so  that  it  would  appear 
we  have  all  of  us  been  out  iu  our  calculations  respecting 
the  denominations  of  the  Japanese  stamps. 

Postal  Innovations  on  the  Continent. — "We  learn 
from  Le  Petit  Moniteur  that  the  French  postal  depart- 
ment has  established,  in  connection  with  every  railway 
train,  a  depot  of  postage  stamps  and  stamped  envelopes,  at 
the  disposal,  and  for  the  convenience  of  travellers.  It  ap- 
pears this  novel  extension  of  the  system  was  introduced 
and  has  been  practised  by  the  German  post-office  since 
the  1st  ult.  The  latter  also  gave  public  notice,  on  27th 
March  last,  that  subscriptions  would  be  received  in  all 
the  post-offices  in  the  German  empire,  ''not  only  to 
German  newspapers,  but  also  to  all  the  principal  journals 
and  reviews  published  in  France,  England,  Poland,  Rus- 
sia,  Spain,  &c,  &c.  The  officials,  at  all  the  post-office 
windows,  will  be  ready  to  give  every  necessary  infor- 
mation, and  will  communicate  a  list  of  the  prices  of  the 
journals  to  all  who  may  request  it.  The  journals  for 
which  subscriptions  may  be  received  will  be  forwarded 
through  the  post  to  the  subscribers  by  the  quickest 
route."  This  is  really  an  important  measure;  no  doubt 
the  public  will  appreciate  it ;  and  we  question  whether 
the  booksellers  and  newspaper  agents  will  not  also  hold 
a  strong  opinion  about  it ;  but,  probably,  the  scheme  is 
intended  principally  for  the  benefit  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  smaller  towns  and  the  country. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

THE  SUEZ  CANAL  STAMPS. 

To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp -Collector's  Magazine." 

Sik, — The  editor  of  Gray's  Catalogue,  5th  edition,  takes 
exception  to  the  Suez  Canal  stamps.  I  beg  to  say  I  have 
a  postmarked  20  c,  whose  pedigree  is  irreproachable.  The 
above  catalogue  is  so  deservedly  widely  circulated,  and 
Mr.  Overy  Taylor  generally  so  trustworthy  a  mentor,  that 
it  is  all  the  more  important  to  establish  the  true  character 
of  the  accused. 

Tours  truly, 

WARDEN. 


THE  RUSSIAN  LOCALS  AND  FINNISH  STAMPS. 
To  the  Editor  o/uThe  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sik, — Tour  correspondent,  Mr.  John  Siewert, 
is  quite  right  in  his  description  of  the  Valdai  hills,  and 
allow  me  to  remark  further,  that  the  arms  depicted  on  the 
stamp  are  that  of  the  district — the  peak  in  allusion  to 
the  hills,  and  the  other  part,  the  imperial  crown  and 
ground  of  ermine,  of  the  government  of  Novgorod.  It  is 
well  known  in  history  that  Novgorod  was  the  oldest  grand- 
duchy  of  Russia ;  and  the  Russians  date  the  establishment 
of  their  empire  from  862,  when  Ruric  established  his 
government  in  Novgorod. 

There  is  nothing  strange  in  the  Finland  post  cards 
being  issued  before  those  of  Russia.  In  the  first  place, 
the  new  style  is  used  there,  hence  a  difference  of  twelve 
days;  and  secondly,  they  are  governed  by  a  different 
constitution,  have  another  language,  religion,  and  mone- 
tary value,  and  nothing  in  common  with  the  Russians 
but  being  subjects  of  one  empire. 
I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Tours  faith fu  11  v, 
TOUR  ST.  PETERSBURG  CORRESPONDENT. 


AN  AMERICAN    COLLECTOR    ON    THE    RECENT 
AUCTION  SALE. 

To  the  Editor  o/"The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — I  was  very  glad  to  see  your  article  on  the 
recent  auction  sale.  I  question  very  seriously  the  gen- 
uineness of  various  bids  in  behalf  of  "  American  orders  or 
parties,"  since  collecting  is  not  pursued  here  as  with  you, 
nor  by  persons  who  are  accustomed  to  pay  such  prices,  ex- 
cept in  a  very  few  cases ;  while  those  very  persons,  most 
probably,  had  the  same  opportunity  that  I  had  months 
ago  of  buj-ing  such  stamps  of  "  Scott  &  Co.,"  and  would 
hardly  leave  the  prices  to  the  chances  of  an  auction  sale 
"  across  the  water." 

I  think  we  have  had  enough  of  Confederate  local  or 
city  stamps  brought  to  light,  in  mysterious  ways,  to  prevent 
our  accepting  such,  unless  on  the  most  direct  and  positive 
proof.  I  chanced  to  secure  the  only  two  Livingston, 
Ala.,  provisional  stamps  that  I  ever  saw  or  heard  of, 
one  for  myself  and  the  other  for  a  fellow-collector,  both 
being  on  one  envelope,  duly  postmarked,  dated,  &c. ;  but 
had  I  not  received  them  from  a  young  man  well  known 
to  me,  who  discovered  them  in  a  file  of  old  letters,  I 
should  have  doubted  their  genuineness. 

There  is  a  singular  mystery  about  those  "  St.  Louis  " 
stamps,  and  it  is  incomprehensible  to  me  how  their  use,  in 
such  a  city,  could  be  confined  to  so  very  select  a  few, 
and  those  few  apparently  dealers. 

I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Tours  truly, 

Cambridge,  Mass.  F.  F. 


GERMAN  MONET-ORDER  CARDS  AND 
ENVELOPES. 

To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — The  answers  to  the  queries  by  L.  0.,  of 
Bedford,  in  the  "  Correspondence"  column  of  last  number, 
are  easily  to  be  obtained  from  the  objects  themselves. 

1. — The  stamps  impressed  on  the  money-order  cards 
do  indeed  represent  the  postage  and  the  fee  combined  ; 
no  other  charge  is  made  for  the  remittance,  but  the 
postage  is  varying  according  to  the  amount  remitted  ;  for 
instance,  in  Austria  the  scale  is  as  follows  : — 

Up  to  10    floiins,  5  kreuzer. 

From  10       ,,       to      50  florins  10      „ 

„  50       „      to    100      „      15      „ 

„  100       „      to    500      „      30      „ 

„  500       „      to  1000      „      60      „ 

„  lOuO       „      to  2000      „      90      „ 

„  2000       „      to  3000      „        1  fl.  20  krs. 

„  3000       „      to  4000      „        1   „   50    „ 

„  4000       „      to  5000      „        1   „   80    „ 

As  there  are  only  cards  with  5  kr.  stamps  impressed  on 
them,  higher  postage  must  be  made  up  by  supplementary 
adhesives,  for  which  the  right  margin  under  the  stamp  is 
destined. 

2. — The  card  or  envelope  is  sent  by  the  person  who 
obtains  the  money-order,  and  the  amount  is  paid  to  the 
bearer  of  the  card  or  envelope,  provided  with  his  sig- 
nature, without  any  legitimation. 

3. — Private  communications  are  allowed  to  be  written 
on  the  left  space  (coupon)  of  the  cards  and  the  interior 
of  the  envelopes;  the  coupon  may  be  cut  off,  and  the 
letter  be  taken  out  from  the  envelope  by  the  receiver 
before  presentation  ;  but  in  the  latter  case  the  public  are 
warned  against  tearing  the  flap,  the  receipt  being  written 
on  it.  I  should  add,  that  imperial  postage  stamps  and 
envelopes  having  been  introduced  in  Wurtemburg,  the 


96 


the  stamp-collector's  magazine. 


local  money- order  envelopes  are  withdrawn  from  cir- 
culation. 

Speaking  of  money-order  cards,  I  may  as  well  mention 
the  ••  I'ost-mandat  Karte"  in  Germany  and  Hungary. 
Against  a  fee  of  5  sgr.  or  10  kreuzer,  the  post-office 
undertakes  to  obtain  any  stated  amount  from  any  person 
indicated  on  the  card,  and  remits  the  money  to  the 
sender  of  the  card  (if  it  be  paid)  by  money- order,  less  the 
ordinary  fee  for  it.  The  mandate  is  to  be  forwarded  by 
the  obtainer  to  the  post-office  where  the  debtor  lives,  in 
an  envelope  bearing  tbe  inscription  post  ma>~dat,  which 
in  this  case  is  considered  as  a  registered  letter,  witbout 
being  liable  to  the  registration  fee.  Postage  is  at  the 
charge  of  the  obtainer  of  the  order. 

The  German  post-mandate  card  is  green,  and  bears  no 
stamp,  but  only  a  square  destined  for  it.  The  Hungarian 
post-mandate  is  also  green,  of  very  thin  cardboard,  and 
has  the  10  kr.  adhesive  printed  on  it.  but  in  black  colour. 

I  must  again  apologise  for  my  bad  style  in  using  your 
language;  it  is  more  than  eight  years  that  I  am  gone 
from  hospitable  England,  and  I  have  but  rarely  oppor- 
tunities of  practising  it;  but  I  hope  you  will  accept 
my  good  will  for  the  deed. 

Tours  verv  trulv, 

Gabion:,  a.d.  3'eisse,  MAX  JOSEPH. 

Bohemia. 

[Does  the  post-office  -which  receives  the  "  post-mandat "  apply  for  pay- 
ment to  the  person  on  whoni  the  sender  draws  f  If  the  money-orders  are 
paid  to  bearers  of  cards  or  envelopes,  -without  any  proof  of  identity,  snch 
a  mode  of  transmitting  money  seems  to  offer  very  insufficient  gua- 
rantees.—Ed.] 


STAMP   CATALOGUING. 

To  the  Editor  of  *■•  The  Stamp-Collzctok's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — In  the  not  improbable  event  of  new  editions 
shortly  appearing  of  more  tban  one  stamp  catalogue,  more 
especially  Dr.  Gray's,  there  may.  perhaps,  be  no  harm  in 
drawing  "attention  to  a  few  points,  wherein  I  think  most 
collectors  will  agree  with  me  in  considering  the  latter 
might  be  improved;  at  least  be  made  more  thoroughly 
what  it  professes  to  be — a  work  for  "  the  great  body  of 
collectors,"  and  so  far  independent  of  other  catalogues. 
As  it  stands  at  present,  it  is  too  often  necessary  for  many 
of  these  collectors  to  have  recourse  elsewhere  for  infor- 
mation, such  as,  doubtless,  Berger  Levrault  (in  English, 
when  we  get  it),  or  Mr.  Pemberton's  promised  car  ri  gue 
— to  the  appearance  of  which  we  all  look  forward  with 
pleasure — would  supply;  but,  in  truth,  Dr.  Gray'-  ana- 
logue, and  such  as  these,  appeal  mainly  to  different  classes, 
and  should  be  each  complete  in  itself. 

In  the  first  place  then,  if  Mr.  Taylor  were  just  a  little 
to  Telax  his  rule  regarding  the  "exclusion  of  certain 
varieties,  it  seems  to  me  he  would  more  generally  meet 
the  views  of  "'the  great  body."  Not  by  any  means  that 
I  Avould  favour  the  admission  of  any  of  the  eccentricities 
of  perforation,  paper,  and  watermark,  to  be  found  chiefly 
in  our  own  colonies,  or  of  the  numerous  varieties  in  shade 
(so  much  noticed  in  recent  monographs),  which  are  usually 
quite  unauthorised  and  accidental,  and  whose  place  is 
elsewhere  ;  but  simply  because  I  think  that  the  majority 
of  collectors  regard  as  distinct,  for  instance,  a  series  of 
rouletted  stamps  and  a  series  issued  at  a  different  time 
and  perforated  in  the  usual  manner — more  generally,  one 
where  mere  incisions  are  made,  and  one  where  portions 
of  the  stamp  are  removed— as  denoting  two  different 
stages  of  improvement  in  the  process;  a  series  perforated 
9  and  another  14;  a  series  with  the  colours  light  or  the 
paper  thin,  and  one  with  dark  colours  or  thick  paper : 


just  as  much,  at  any  rate,  as  they  look  on  stamps  water- 
marked with  a  star  as  differing  from  stamps  with  a  crown, 
or  watermarked  with  a  large" figure,  from  others  with  a 
i    small  one.     In  fact,  I  think  Mr.  Taylor  could  not  do  better 
j    than  admit  into  the  catalogue  such  varieties  as  he  usually 
j    notices  in  his  M  Papers  for  Beginners."  unless,  indeed,  he 
|    should  continue  to  transgress  that  title,  as  in  the  last  two 
j    or  three  numbers.     At  all  events,  let  there  be  consistency ; 
if  a  distinction  is  made  in  one  place,  it  should  be  kept  up 
throughout. 

-Again,   for  completeness  sake,  let  the  United  States 
\    locals  be  once  more  included :   now,  at  last,  there  seems 
some  possibility  of  discriminating  between  the  good  and 
the  bad,  and  we  shall  require  to  have  summarised  the  re- 
sults arrived  at  by  the  various  writers  in  the  magazines. 
I  must  here,  too,  renew  my  plea  for  certain  newspaper 
stamps.     What  is  there.  I  should  like  to  know,  peculiar 
j    to  our  lately  deceased  Id.  red,  save  the  simple  fact  of  its 
|    being  impressed  on  each  paper— as  distinguished  from 
-  z  rns  usually  included  in  catalogues  —to  prevent  its 
|    being  collected  ?  or  in  what  respect  are  the  stamps  of  our 
j    own  Times  inferior  to  those  of  the  Fijian  :     It  is  needless 
:    to  mention  many  others  to  which  the" same  remarks  apply. 
Nothing  would  be  of  more  value  to  the  young  collector 
j    than  a  complete  list,  with  illustrations,  of  "all  the  spurious 
J    stamps  that  have  from  time  to  time  been  issued.      I  am 
.    not  aware  of  such  having  ever  appeared.     Of  course  I  do 
not  allude  to  forgeries— they  must  be  described  by  them- 
selves—but to  purely  fictitious  stamps,  that  have  origi- 
nated in  the  brain  of" some  speculator  on  credulirv.      Per- 
haps no  better  check  could  be  put  to  the  indiscriminate 
sale  of  forgeries  proper  than  by  adopting — to  a  less  extent 
certainly,  and  :n  a  modified  form,  to  avoid  the  confusion 
arising  from  many  symbols — Bellars  and  Davie's  plan  of 
indicating,  throughout  the  catalogue,  the  relative  rarity 
of  the  less  common  stamps,  and  so  rendering  it  Less 
to  deceive  by  low-priced  shams.     There  could,  at  anj 
;    be  no  harm  in  increasing  the  number  of  the  explanatorv 
foot-notes,  which  are  often  of  great  interest  and  value. 

If  engravings  of  all  distinct  sped  -s  were  given,  and  not 
those  alone  that  have  previously  appeared  in  The  Mamp- 
Collector's  Magazine  ;  if  different  types  were  used  to  en- 
liven the  page,  and  distinguish  species  and  secondary 
varieties ;  if  a  complete  money-table  (an  article  which, 
strangely  enough,  has  never  yet  been  produced)  were 
added ;  if  the  binding  were  improved,  and  readv-made 
interleaved  copies  sold  at  an  advance,  as  in  Mount 
Brown's  time,  there  would,  I  think,  be  little  left  to  be  de- 
sired. Last,  though  not  least  (to  the  publishers,  at  anv 
rate),  the  price  would  have  to  be  raised,  say,  to  half-a- 
crown,  which  I  am  sure  no  philatelist  would  grudge  for 
a  truly  reliable  and  complete  catalogue. 

These  few  hints  have  been  put  together  to  further  what 
ns  to  be  the  prevalent  opinion  among  a  lanre  class    : 
collectors,  and  by  no  means  to  push  forward  ideas  of  mv 
own.     I  trust  they  may  not  be  alto-ether  out  of  place. 
Tours  faithfullv, 
Xairn.  "        P.  I.  A. 


ANSWERS  TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 

B.  C.  de  C,  Torquay. — We  notice  your  communication, 
together  with  those  of  other  friends*,  in  another  part  of 
the  number,  and  are  obliged  for  the  information  it  con- 
tains. 

W.  E.  B.  wishes  to  know  whether  tbe  stamps  of  the 
Papal  States  are  still  in  use,  and  if  so,  under  what  con- 
ditions. Does  a  letter  from  the  Vatican  cost  more  for 
postage  than  one  from  the  Quirinal  ? 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


97 


NOTES   FOR   COLLECTORS.— I. 

BY   A  PARISIAN   COLLECTOR. 

INTRODUCTION. 

It  has  been  to  us  a  matter  of  regret  that  in 
those  excellent  papers  by  Mr.  Overy  Taylor, 
he  has  not  descended  a  little  deeper  into 
the  mine  of  philatelic  lore  ;  but  he  is  doing- 
essential  service  in  giving  general  and  accu- 
rate reviews  of  the  various  issues  of  the 
stamps  in  each  country,  and  their  several 
types.  He  thus  clears  the  ground,  and  lays 
a  foundation  whereon  a  collector  may  com- 
mence to  select  and  arrange  his  specimens, 
without  having  before  his  eyes  the  fear 
either  of  spending  his  time  or  his  money  in 
vain  ;  or  of  having  to  pull  his  work  to  pieces 
and  bejnn  over  ao-ain.  The  various  issues 
and  types  of  several  European  countries 
having  thus  been  described  in  the  "  Papers 
for  Beginners,"  it  will  be  our  object  to  fol- 
low in  the  wake  of  Mr.  Overy  Taylor,  and  to 
take  our  readers  a  few  steps  deeper  than  he 
has  done  into  the  study  of  the  varieties  of 
these  types;  and  in  making  this  attempt  we 
must  ask  for  their  kind  consideration.  We 
do  not  pretend  to  any  mastership  in  the  craft, 
but  we  have,  in  the  course  of  re-arranging 
our  own  specimens,  been  forcibly  led  to  a 
patient  study  of  them  ;  what,  therefore,  we 
have  to  communicate  will  partly  consist  of  the 
results  of  these  investigations,  and  partly  of 
an  examination  of  the  investigations  of 
others  ;  though,  as  far  as  possible,  we  shall 
avoid  ploughing  with  another  man's  yoke. 

There  is  ample  room  for  study,  for  there  is 
much  yet  to  be  made  clear,  and  much  which 
at  present  must  necessarily  be  left  to  con- 
jecture. The  inroad  of  the  postal  system 
in  the  various  couutries  of  the  world  has 
been  gradual  and  silent,  so  that  ofttimes  we 
are  unable  to  trace  its  entry.  Sometimes 
some  sudden  convulsion — political  or  other 
— arrests  an  issue  in  its  course,  and  super- 
sedes it  by  a  fresh  one,  condemning  the 
residue  of  the  former  one  to  destruction. 
There  is  but  little  difficulty  in  fixing  precise 
dates,  &c,  in  such  a  case  ;  but  how  much 
more  frequently  does  it  happen  that  one 
issue  supersedes  a  preceding  one  by  a  process 
resembling  nothing  so  much  as  a  dissolving 

VOL.  X.     Xo.  111. 


view,  where,  in  the  course  of  the  trans- 
mutation of  the  tableaux,  the  outlines  of  the 
receding  view  are  mixed  up  in  strange  con- 
fusion with  those  of  the  advancing  one  ?  We 
have  only  to  turn  to  the  pages  of  this  maga- 
zine to  see  how  much  the  history  even  of  our 
own  stamps  has  given  rise  to  controversy. 
For  some  time  general  uncertainty  prevailed 
even  as  to  the  date  of  the  issue  of  the 
original  Id.  adhesive  stamp.  When  the 
substitution  of  the  twopence,  with  horizontal 
lines,  for  the  original  twopence  took  place  is 
still  a  matter  of  doubt,  and  philatelists  are 
not  agreed  within  twelve  years  as  to  the 
proper  date  to  be  assigned  to  the  issue  of  the 
embossed  sixpence ;  whilst  we  may  look  in 
vain  for  evidence  to  support  the  following 
dates,  as  given  by  M.  Berger-Levrault  and 
others  : — "  1850,  Id.  red-brown  ;  2d.  blue, 
fil.,  small  crown,  perforated  lb\  November, 
1854,  same  ;  fil.  large  crown,  perforated  14," 
and  endeavour  to  reconcile  the  one  with  the 
first  employment  of  Archer's  machine,  and 
the  other  with  that  assigned  as  the  retouching 
of  the  dies  by  Humphreys.  If  these  dates 
are  right,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  find  a  one- 
penny  stamp,  fil.  large  crown,  perforated  14, 
taken  from  the  die  before  retouch  ;  a  variety 
yet  to  be  discovered.  But  if  difficulties  are 
to  be  found  so  near  home,  what  can  we  ex- 
pect when  we  have  to  travel  farther,  and  ex- 
amine the  stamps  of  distant  countries?  For 
the  most  part  we  find  as  yet  but  few  official 
documents  to  aid  us  ;  we  are  puzzled  by  all 
kinds  of  conflicting  statements.  If  we  apply 
to  any  officials  for  information,  and  an 
answer  is  vouchsafed,  the  information  can  be 
relied  upon  but  seldom  ;  how  much  more 
frequently  no  reply  is  given,  and  the  pe- 
titioner is  looked  upon  as  asking  for  infor- 
mation he  has  no  business  with  ;  while,  if  he 
asks  it  as  an  "amateur  of  postage  stamps," 
the  reply,  if  any,  will  almost  infallibly  be  ad- 
dressed to  him  at  Hanwell  or  at  Charenton. 
In  their  researches  our  readers  must, 
therefore,  in  a  great  degree,  bring  their  own 
intelligence  to  the  work ;  and  our  principal 
object  in  these  notes  will  be  to  induce  them 
to  enter  upon  a  patient  and  minute  ex- 
amination of  the  specimens  of  the  stamps  of 
each  country  which  they  possess,  with  a  view 
to  a  methodical  classification  of  them,  and  to 


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direct  them  in  the  choice  of  interesting  va- 
rieties, and  such  as  may  appear  to  be  useful 
in  elucidating  points  which  are  still  attended 
with  doubt  and  mystery. 

"We  might  as  well  imagine  that  by  studying 
anatomy  on  paper  we  could  arrive  at  dis- 
coveries in  its  science,  or  at  facility  in  the  use 
of  the  scalpel,  as  that  we  can  do  much  in  the 
study  of  philately  without  the  aid  of  a  good 
selection  of  specimens.  In  the  choice  of  our 
own  specimens  we  have  been  guided  by  one 
principal  rule — never  to  reject  anything 
which  may  tend  to  exhibit  the  history  of 
a  stamp,  and  the  different  phases  which  it 
has  gone  through.  Now,  the  three  principal 
elements  upon  which  varieties  depend,  are, 
the  paper  employed  in  the  fabrication  of  the 
stamps,  the  colour  of  the  impression,  and  the 
mode  in  which  the  separation  of  the  stamps 
from  each  other  is  effected,  whether  by 
mechanism  or  by  the  hand.  Two  other 
points  are  also  worthy  of  attention,  which 
are, — the  kind  of  gum  employed  for  render- 
ing the  stamps  adhesive,  and  the  various 
marks  which  have  been  employed  during  the 
existence  of  the  stamp  for  obliterating  it, 
and  rendering  it  unserviceable  for  a  second 
employ. 

Taper. — When  we  consider  the  different 
kinds  of  paper  employed  for  the  manufacture 
of  stamps  we  may  well  accord  to  it  the  first 
place  among  the  elements  of  varieties.  At 
one  time  the  paper  is  coloured,  at  another 
white ;  at  one  time  it  is  a  hard  hand-made 
paper,  at  another  soft  and  cottony  ;  at  one 
time  thick,  at  another  thin  as  tissue  paper  ; 
at  one  time  with  some  special  watermark,  and 
at  another  with  simple  parallel  lines,  or  what 
is  called  "  laid  "  paper.  All  these  are  differ- 
ences to  be  observed,  and  observed  closely, 
as  the  employment  or  non-employment  of 
any  particular  kind  may  serve  to  furnish  in- 
ternal evidence  of  a  point  in  the  history  of  a 
stamp  which  cannot  be  supplied  from  other 
sources.  Thus  the  presence  or  absence  of  a 
watermark  enables  us  at  once  to  discern  be- 
tween the  first  issue  for  Prussia  and  a  worth- 
less reprint.  The  difference  of  paper, 
Avhether  laid  or  plain,  enables  us  to  classify 
our  first  issues  of  Canadian  stamps  into  the 
early  and  the  later  portiou  of  the  issue  ;  and 
very    numerous    other    examples    might    be 


mentioned,  which  we  refrain  from  giving,  as 
they  will  be  brought  individually  before  our 
readers  in  the  course  of  these  notes. 

Again  :   the  colour  of  the  impression  is  an 
essential  element  of  variety.     A  distinction 
must,  however,  be  drawn  between  shades  of 
a  normal  colour  and  different  depths  of  the 
:   same  colour.     As  a  general  rule  we  avoid,  as 
;   far  as   possible,   overloading  our    collection 
i   with    these   latter   when    they    arise    from 
i   causes  solely  dependent  on  the  working  off  of 
|   the  impression.     Such  varieties,  and   those 
akin    to    them,    as    inverted    watermarks, 
,   double  perforations.  &c.,  we  leave  to  fanciful 
|   collectors,   who   must    necessarily    feel   but 
|   little   interest  in  star  and  such-like  water- 
i   marks,  which  can  present  so  little  value  to 
i   them  in   comparison  with   stamps   such  as 
j   those    of  British   Guiana,   where  they  may 
'   possibly  discover  a  portion  of  t.  h.  saunders 
|   upside  down.      Such  varieties  only  show  the 
j   unskilfulness   of  the  workman,  or  an  over- 
sight on  his  part,  and  are  not  incidents  in 
the  history  of  the   stamp.     But  where  the 
■    shade    varies    in    character — where,  for  in- 
|    stance,  it  is  Prussian  blue  at  one  time  and 
•    ultramarine  blue  at  another — it  is  worthy  of 
i    collection.     In  making,  however,  a  selection 
'    of  shades  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
i   colours  used  in  the  printing  of  stamps  are 
most    frequently    compound    colours.       The 
j   exact  tint  of  to-day  may  be  varied  to-inorrow, 
i   and  the  day  following  the  tint  may  be  again 
that  of  to-day.     As  far  as  possible  we  shall 
endeavour  to  catalogue  only  such  fortuitous 
;   shades    as  are   of  any  interest,  though   we 
;    scarcely  hope  to  arrive  at  accurate  descrip- 
tions of  those  intricate  shades  which  we  are 
constantly  meeting  with  in  postage  stamps. 
The  chief  difficulty  in  the  description  of 
i   shades  arises  from  this,  that  philatelists  have 
no  standards  of  colour  to  start  from,  and  it 
would  seem  impossible  to  arrive  at  this,  un- 
less by  some  common  action  amongst  theni- 
'    selves.     The  colour-box  is  of  no  use,  for  even 
in  a  common  colour  like  vermilion  we  could 
find  two  or  three  tinges  of  colour,  according 
as  it  came  from  England  or  from  France, 
from  Rathbone-place  or  from    Soho-square. 
We  are  aware  that  it  is  in  contemplation  to 
form  a  code  of  colours  for  philatelists,  and 
with  the  present  facilities  of  printing  by  the 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


99 


chromo-lithographic  process,  this  surely  is 
not  an  impossibility;  without  something  of 
this  kind  no  general  catalogue  can  ever  suc- 
ceed in  chronicling  the  various  shades. 
Take  for  example  the  interesting  paper  on 
"  The  Stamps  of  Trinidad,"  in  the  April 
number  of  The  Philatelical  Journal.  The 
normal  colours  of  the  sixpence  and  shilling 
of  the  issue  of  1865  are  given  as  green  and 
purple.  But  to  find  the  normal  colour  we 
have  to  hunt  about  among  the  heights  and 
depths  before  we  discover  it ;  whereas,  if  we 
had  a  fixed  code  of  colours  we  could  at  once 
find  our  starting-point.  It  is  true  that  there 
are  some  colours  which  are  peculiar  to 
stamps,  as  for  instance  what  is  called  histre 
in  the  French  catalogues  ;  but  which  has  no 
more  relation  to  the  bistre  of  the  colour 
makers  than  vermilion  has  to  carmine,  ex- 
cept that  in  one  both  are  browns,  and  in  the 
other  both  are  red.  But  for  special  colours 
special  names  might  be  given.  As  artists 
adopt  names  of  great  painters  to  denote  par- 
ticular shades,  such  as  Vandyck  brown, 
Rubens'  madder,  &c,  why  should  not  phi- 
latelists have  Magnus's  brown,  Pemberton's 
purple,  Viner's  grey,  &c.  ?  which  last  might 
be  of  great  service  in  the  task  of  enumerating 
the  shades  of  the  block-printed  Trinidads. 

The  mode  in  which  the  stamps  are  to  be 
separated  from  each  other  is  also  an  im- 
portant element  in  the  classification  of  their 
varieties.  The  time  when  no  distinction 
wras  made  between  perforated  and  im- 
perforated stamps  has  long  passed  away. 
Perforations  are  no  longer  cut  off' in  order  to 
straighten  the  edges  of  the  specimens.  The 
numbers  of  the  holes,  within  a  given  space, 
are  now  all  counted,  and  we  classify  our 
specimens  accordingly. 

The  gumming  of  adhesive  stamps  is  also  a 
point  worthy  of  examination.  Let  all  col- 
lectors avoid,  as  much  as  possible,  cleaning 
off*  the  original  gum.  Our  own  experience 
is  that  at  times  it  is  next  to  impossible  to 
mount  or  to  preserve  specimens  without 
doing  so  ;  or  even  to  obtain  specimens  which 
have  the  original  gum  still  upon  them ;  but 
as  far  as  is  practicable,  it  is  well  to  avoid 
putting  the  specimens  into  water,  except  for 
examining  the  texture  of  the  paper.  We 
cannot  at  this  moment  refer  to  it,  but  we 


well  recollect  seeing,  in  the  pages  of  this 
magazine,  a  letter  from  a  Goth,  containing  a 
receipt  for  cleaning  off  that  "  unsightly  pink 
gum  "  from  the  Hanoverian  stamps,  by  a  pro- 
cess of  soda  and  hot  water.  After  this  had 
been  done,  what  was  left  to  show  the  dif- 
ference between  the  originals  and  the  re- 
prints in  the  older  series,  or  to  show  the 
place  in  his  collection  for  the  later  series  ? 

Lastly,  for  the  purpose  of  study,  there  is 
nothing  like  the  aid  of  some  well-chosen 
obliterated  specimens.  When  gold-fields  in 
the  Confederate  States  are  being  daily  dis- 
j  covered  ;  when  reprints  are  being  every  day 
I  foisted  on  collectors  ;  when  dealers  in  stamps 
are  becoming  almost  as  clever  as  dealers  in 
pictures  by  old  masters — it  is  a  comfort  to 
a  collector  to  be  able  to  compare  his  speci- 
mens with  a  good  honestly  obliterated 
stamp.  To  a  certain  extent  the  successive 
modes  of  obliteration  adopted  in  a  country 
enable  us  also  to  arrive  at  some  approxi- 
mate idea  as  to  the  period  when  the  stamp 
was  current.  A  common  instance  of  this 
may  occur  to  everyone-  in  the  case  of  the 
Maltese-cross  obliterating  mark  on  our  own 
early  stamps,  first  in  red  and  then  in  black. 
Dr.  Magnus,  in  his  classification  of  the  stamps 
of  Victoria,  found  the  obliterating  marks  a 
most  important  guide  to  him  in  his  labours. 
It  is  true  that  such  marks  are  not  to  be  de- 
pended upon  exclusively,  for  we  have  our- 
selves found  a  threepence  of  the  current 
series  bearing  one  of  the  oldest  obliterations  ; 
yet  an  exception  does  not  destroy  the  rule, 
and  none  can  deny  that  they  are  great  and 
essential  aids. 

After  this  introduction,  we  will,  in  our 
next  paper,  proceed  to  make  some  notes  on 
the  first  series  of  the  stamps  of  Austria. 

OUR   CONTEMPORARIES. 

[Emissions  noticed  in  the  present  Article  -.—Mex- 
ico— Japan — Hawaii — Morton  fy   (7o.] 

The  Philatelical  Journal. — We  have  perused 
with  considerable  interest  an  able  paper  in 
the  May  number  of  this  journal,  on  the  sur- 
charging of  the  Mexican  stamps.  Papers 
like  this,  breaking  up  fresh  ground,  and  in 
which  fresh  subjects  are  ventilated,  give  ad- 
ditional interest  to  philately,  and  induce  col- 


100 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


lectors  not  only  to  examine  their  own  spe- 
cimens, but  also  to  think  for  themselves. 
The  paper  in  question  is  evidently  the  work 
of  the  editor.  It  is  well  that  such  a  subject 
as  the  Mexican  stamps  should  have  been 
taken  up  by  so  experienced  a  philatelist,  and 
we  trust  it  is  not  the  last  paper  which  we 
shall  see  on  these  difficult  stamps  from  the 
same  source.  There  are  still  the  provisional 
Guadalajara  stamps,  and  the  types  of  the 
1868  series,  to  be  dealt  with. 

Perhaps  not  one  collector  in  twenty  ever 
gave  himself  the  trouble  to  think  what  the 
surcharging  on  the  Mexican  stamps  meant. 
The  great  mass  had,  doubtless,  some  floating 
idea  that  the  figures  had  something  to  do 
with  the  date  of  issue,  but  that  was  about 
all.  The  investigations,  however,  of  the 
author  of  the  paper  in  The  Philatelic al 
Journal  point  out  their  true  object,  which 
no  doubt  was  the  establishment  of  an  ad- 
ministrative control  over  the  quantities 
employed. 

A  correspondent  has  forwarded  to  us 
some  notes  which  he  has  made  on  this 
paper,  and  we  are  sure  that  it  will  be 
gratifying  to  the  author  of  the  latter  to  find 
that  it  has  had  the  effect  of  drawing  the 
attention  of  other  philatelists  to  the  subject, 
and  producing  communications  from  them. 

Some  three  or  four  years  ago,  I  collected  together  a 
considerable  number  of  Mexican  stamps,  and  am  able  to 
make  a  few  additions  to  the  lists  given  in  The  Philatelical 
Journal.  For  instance,  in  the  Hidalgo  series,  the  follow- 
ing may  be  added  to  the  names  of  towns,  in  Iloman 
capitals  at  the  side  : — huejutla,  in  black  on  colour,  and 
colour  on  white;  tlalpujahua  ;  ttxtlan,  Guerrero; 
and  tuea — colour  on  white  ;  and  victoria  de  tampas 
— a  contraction  for  Tamaulipas— black  on  colour ;  the 
names  being  in  large  Roman  capitals. 

With  regard  to  the  stamps  surcharged  Mexico,  I  have 
never  found  any  copies  of  the  first  series,  colour  on  white, 
surcharged  in  block  capitals  or  Egyptian  type  ;  but  the 
series  black  on  colour  and  colour  on  colour  are  found  sur- 
charged with  this  type,  in  two  sizes. 

In  the  eagle  series  it  seems  probable  that  the  figures 
were  not  printed  upon  those  firs!,  issued,  for  many  copies 
are  found  without  figures,  especially  amongst  the  older 
shades.  I  take  exception  to  the  mode  of  spelling 
cuernavaca  ;  it  is  not  spelt  "  Quernavaga,"  either  on 
the  stamps  or  on  the  French  map  of  Mexico.  I  could  add 
several  names  also  to  the  list  of  39,  given  by  The  Phila- 
telical Journal;  but'some  of  them — like  Pubanco— are 
to  be  found  on  the  stamp  but  not  on  the  map.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  during  the  French  occupation  many  small 
offices,  which  neither  before  nor  after  it  issued  stamps,  re- 
ceived their  supplies  from  head-quarters  ;  for  it  appears 
to  be  perfectly  clear  that  the  figures  were  printed  at  the 
head  issuing   office,   and  that  those  preceding  the  date 


were  the  numbers  corresponding  in  the  books  with  the 
particular  dispatch  of  stamps.  For  example,  if  the  office 
at  Vera  Cruz  wanted  a  supply  of  1,  2,  and  4  reales  stamps, 
these  sheets  would  all  be  stamped  at  the  head  office  with 
the  same  number,  and  in  the  books,  under  this  number, 
would  be  entered  so  many  sheets  of  1,  2,  and  4  reales, 
despatched  at  such  a  time  to  Vera  Cruz.  That  the  sur- 
charging of  the  stamps  with  the  figures  is  done  at  a  head 
issuing  office  seems  to  be  evident  from  the  fact  mentioned 
by  the  author  of  the  paper,  that  during  the  early  part  of 
1861  the  surcharged  figures  were  in  heavy  block  type,  and 
later  on  the  figures  are  ordinary  Roman  ;  and  he  men- 
tions finding  that  this  change  took  place  between  the 
numbers  177  and  183.  I  find  that  178  was  a  dispatch  to 
Tula,  179  to  Puebla.  both  in  the  heavy  type,  and  that 
180  was  a  dispatch  to  Vera  Cruz,  in  the  Iloman  type,  which 
was  then  employed  for  all  future  dispatches  ;  for  though  I 
have  not  a  copy  of  181,  yet  I  have  182,  and  many  subse- 
quent numbers,  all  in  ordinary  Roman  type.  That  the 
number  was  not  peculiar  to  one  value,  is  evident  from  the 
circumstance  of  different  values  being  found  stamped 
with  the  same  name  and  with  the  same  figures. 

Before  the  stamps  were  issued  to  the  public,  they  were 
stamped  with  the  name  of  the  issuing  office ;  but  it  is 
evident  that  not  unfrequently  this  was  omitted.  Some 
offices  seem  also  to  have  been  unprovided  with  the 
necessary  stamp,  as  I  have  found  the  name,  in  more  than 
one  case,  Avritten  upon  the  stamp.  I  do  not  see  that  much 
notice  need  be  taken  as  to  whether  the  name  was  stamped 
on  the  side,  the  bottom,  or  the  top.  It  is  ordinarily  at 
the  side ;  but  there  are  many  variations  from  the  list,  as 
given  in  The  Thilafelical  Journal. 

The  question,  then,  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  figures 
surcharged  on  these  stamps  is,  I  think,  pretty  clearly 
solved,  but  the  raison  d'etre  of  the  names  does  not  appear 
to  me  to  be  so  easy  of  solution.  At  one  time  the  author 
of  the  paper  calls  them  the  "names  of  towns  or  dis- 
tricts;" at  another,  the  "name  of  state."  If,  by  the 
latter  expression  he  means  the  provinces  which  make  up 
the  Mexican  republic,  I  think  he  is  wrong,  as  there  are 
many  names  in  the  lists  which  are  not  the  names  of 
provinces,  nor  even  of  departments.  According  to  the 
statistical  tables  of  M.  Garcia  y  Cubas,  published  in 
Mexico  in  1870,  the  country  is  divided  into  27  states. 
In  every  one  of  these  states  the  name  of  one  town  at 
least  is  represented  on  the  stamps,  and  in  some,  two, 
three,  or  more.  Does  not  this  point  rather  to  a  species  of 
postal  district,  some  particular  town  in  which  is  the  seat 
of  the  office  deriving  its  supplies  from  head- quarters,  and 
with  which  the  head  office  keeps  its  account,  and  which 
in  its  turn  supplies  the  wants  of  the  particular  district  ? 

When  the  Maximilian  series  was  issued — although  this 
took  place  in  the  middle  of  the  jrear  1866— yet  a  fresh 
series  of  numbers  was  printed  upon  them,  no  longer  on  the 
side,  but  at  the  top  of  the  stamp.  The  lithographed  series 
was  probably  issued  in  July,  for  though  I  have  a  copy  of 
the  12  cents,  numbered  3,  yet  the  earliest  number  which  I 
have  with  a  dated  postmark  is  numbered  issued  as  12, 
and  postmarked  August  2.  The  engraved  series  was  a 
continuation  of,  and  issued  in  conjunction  with,  the  litho- 
graphed series.  The  earliest  specimen  of  the  engraved 
series  which  I  have  is  numbered  112 — 66;  the  latest  in 
that  year,  139  ;  and  I  have  a  lithographed  copy  of  the  7 
cent,  also  bearing  this  latter  date. 

My  notes  are  already  growing  too  long,  and  I  will 
therefore  only  make  a  few  remarks  upon  the  list  of  the 
1888  series.  I  have  found  neither  15  nor  32.  My  copy  of 
the  27  is  also  illegible.  Number  29  is  Tula  de  Tampas — 
so  called,  I  suppose,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  other  Tula 
in  the  province  of  Mexico — and  31  is  Maravatio.    Why 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


101 


Guadalajara  should  hare  had  two  numbers  is  an  enigma. 
I  find  copies  dated  '69,  numbered  41,  but  no  successor  to 
its  earlier  number  3.  Jalapa  is  also  numbered  44,  instead 
of  14;  I  take  this  to  be  an  error  of  the  printer,  in  using 
a  4  for  a  1 ;  nevertheless,  it  is  an  unmistakable  4. 

The  new  issue  seems  to  bring  in  a  new  series  of  check 
figures,  though  Mexico  is  still  ISTo.  1 ;  yet  I  see,  from  The 
Philatelist,  that  Vera  Cruz  is  No.  70.  We  shall  soon 
have  enough  and  to  spare  of  Mexican  stamps.  The  41 
numbers  do  not  exhaust  the  varieties  of  the  1868  series. 
If  anyone  thinks  so,  let  him  study  the  figures  of  2,  for 
instance,  on  the  12  centavos,  and  he  will  see  that  in 
Mexico  they  know  at  least  half-a-dozen  different  ways  of 
making  that  figure. 

It  will  be  seen  that  our  correspondent 
agrees  with  the  author  of  the  paper  in  The 
Pkilatelical  Journal,  when  he  says  that  the 
system  of  varying  the  numbers  on  the  eagle 
series  "  evidently  pointed  to  some  plan  for 
checking  the  quantities  issued."  With  that, 
we  think,  all  the  interest  of  the  figures  ends, 
except  so  far  as  they  may  tend  to  fix  the 
date  of  any  changes  in  the  colours  of  the 
impressions.  As  for  the  additional  disfigure- 
ment caused  by  stamping  the  name  of  the 
town  upon  the  stamp,  the  only  interest  we 
can  see  in  the  difference  between  a  stamp 
purchased  at  the  office  in  Vera  Cruz,  and 
one  purchased  in  Puebla,  is  pretty  much  the 
same  interest  as  between  a  penny  stamp 
purchased  in  Bath,  and  another  purchased 
in  Bristol. 

Of  the  remaining  contents  of  the  May 
number,  the  only  article  calling  for  special 
remark  is  that  of  the  Rev.  R.  B.  Earee,  on 
"Japanese  Stamps  and  Numerals,"  which  is 
exceedingly  interesting.  It  exposes  the 
inaccuracies  of  the  paper  published  in  the 
March  number  of  Le  Timbre-Poste  on  the 
same  subject.  According  to  the  latter,  the 
Japanese  stamps  should  be  mounted  with 
the  dragon's  head  downwards.  This  struck 
us  at  the  time  as  a  very  droll  inversion,  but 
we  bowed  to  the  authority  of  the  foreign 
journal,  and  contented  ourselves  with  chro- 
nicling its  statement.  Mr.  Earee  now  says 
that  the  numerals  which  illustrated  the 
article  in  Le  Timbre-Poste  were  all  upside 
doivn,  and  the  argument  derived  from  their 
position  is  conclusively  refuted.  He  then 
gives  a  series  of  engravings  of  the  numerals 
as  they  should  be  written,  and  accompanies 
it  with  a  very  lucid  explanation.  The 
arithmetical  system  of  the  Japanese  is  ex- 
ceedingly cumbrous,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 


fact,  that  to  express  the  number  259,  they 
must  employ  five  of  their  figures,  disposed 
one  under  the  other,  in  the  following  order. 


100 

5 

10 

9 


i.e.,  100  x  2  +  10  x  5  +  9  =  259 


"  Fane}',"  says  the  author  of  the  paper,  "a 
compound  long-division  sum  in  Japanese!" 

The  article  on  "Novelties  "  is  replete  with 
information  ;  and  in  the  continuation  of  his 
article  on  the  Hawaiian  emissions,  Mr.  Atlee 
demonstrates  that  the  figure  stamps  form  a 
provisional  series  issued  for  local  postage,  and 
are  not,  as  had  been  supposed,  unpaid-letter, 
or  additional  postage  stamps.  The  "  Cream  of 
the  Magazines"  and  the  "Reviews"  are  both 
very  readable,  but  why  the  discussion  of  the 
contents  of  contemporary  papers  should  be 
inserted  under  two  different  headings,  we 
cannot  understand.  As  a  general  rule, 
reviews  are  supposed  to  extend  to  new 
publications  only. 

The  Philatelist  for  May  is  principally  re- 
markable for  a  paper,  by  "Warden,"  on  "The 
Stamps  of  Saint  Domingo,"  which  forms  the 
first  attempt  at  the  establishment  of  a  dis- 
criminative catalogue  of  the  perplexing 
emissions  of  that  republic.  We  doubt  not 
but  that  our  readers  will  thank  us  for 
having  transferred  this  article  bodily  to  the 
columns  of  our  present  number.  Both  the 
May  and  June  numbers  contain  instalments 
of  "A  Parisian  Collector's"  monograph  on 
"The  Envelopes  of  Germany,"  and  Mr.  Atlee's 
"  Spud  Papers."  In  the  latter,  the  forgeries 
of  Brunswick  and  Uruguay  are  carefully 
treated,  the  descriptions  being  accompanied, 
as  usual,  by  specimens  of  the  counterfeits 
themselves.  The  editor  continues  to  dis- 
course on  telegraph  stamps,  and  is  gradually 
forming  a  descriptive  list,  which  will  prove 
of  great  value  to  all  who  intend  forming 
a  collection  of  these  semi-postal  labels.  We 
hope  the  learned  author  will  publish  the 
list  as  a  separate  work  when  complete  ; 
nothing  would  give  such  a  fillip  to  the  col- 
lection of  telegraph  stamps  as  the  possession 
of  a  catalogue. 

Le    Timbre-Poste. — The    May    and    June 
numbers  present  very  few  noticeable  features. 


102 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


The  former  contains  an  article  on  the  Morton 
stamps  ;  but  the  documentary  evidence 
which  was  to  establish  their  lack  of  value  is 
not  forthcoming.  The  editor  confines  him- 
self to  the  endeavour  to  prove  that  they  are 
simply  the  fruits  of  a  speculation  on  the 
part  of  Mt*.  Panopoulo.  He  establishes,  at 
best,  bat  a  suspicion  against  the  stamps.  Mr. 
Panopoulo  evidently  desires  to  push  the  sale 
of  them,  but  such  desire  is  not  incompatible 
with  the  hypothesis  of  their  genuineness 
as  a  postal  emission.  The  fact  is  that  very 
few  locals  are  entirely  free  from  the  taint  of 
speculation.  When  we  find  that  the  officials 
of  various  state  post-offices — those  of  Hawaii. 
Buenos  Ay  res.  &c. — engage  in  the  sale  of 
obsolete  stamps. — when  we  find  also  that  the 
stock  of  old  German  stamps  was  disposed  of 
"  at  a  sacrifice" — we  need  not  be  surprised 
if  the  director  of  a  private  office  seeks  to 
augment  his  or  its  revenue  by  vending  its 
emissions  en  masse  to  collectors.  We  should 
certainly  think  more  of  the  Morton  stamps 
if  they  were  not  put  up  for  sale  in  this  way, 
but  we  see  no  reason  to  question  their  being 
really  in  use.  and  in  this  connection  we 
cannot  overlook  the  fact  that  nearly  two 
years  ago  we  received  a  letter  from  a  cor- 
respondent at  Constantinople  announcing 
the  emission  and  enclosing  specimens.  Fur- 
ther independent  testimony  would  certainly 
strengthen  the  case  in  their  favour,  but  M. 
Moens'  strictures  are  but  slightly  justified 
by  his  arguments.  He  states  that  specimens 
of  the  first  round  type,  that  without  steamer, 
are  made  by  sticking  a  bit  of  paper  over  the 
steamer,  above  the  word  franco  :  and  that 
specimens  of  the  second  round  type,  that 
with  steamer,  are  made  by  that  part  of  the 
stamp  being  left  uncovered  :  for,  he  says, 
many  of  the  specimens  of  the  first  type  show 
traces  of  parts  of  the  steamer  which  have 
been  imperfectly  covered.  This  we  know, 
from  another  source,  to  be  the  fact,  and  it  is 
not  a  very  reputable  one  ;  but  we  must,  in 
justice,  say  we  have  seen,  and  still  possess, 
specimens  of  the  first  type,  innocent  of  any 
traces  of  the  apposition  of  a  piece  of  paper. 
M.  Moens  objects  also  that  no  trace  of  gum  is 
found  on  the  backs  of  these  circular  stamps, 
but  the  same  objection  would  tell  with  equal 
force  against  any  recognized  genuine  stamp 


which  was  not  gummed.  Let  it  be  under- 
stood, we  do  not  impugn  M.  Moens'  motive 
in  questioning  the  character  of  these  stamps, 
nor  do  we  set  ourselves  up  as  their  defenders. 
We  are  as  desirous  as  he  can  be  of  ascer- 
taining exactly  what  they  are  worth;  but 
before  relaxing  our  belief  in  their  authenticity, 
we  must  have  some  stronger  evidence  than 
he  brings  forward.  Perhaps  the  truth  is, 
that  prepayment  in  Morton  stamps,  of  letters 
sent  over  the  Morton  line,  is  merely  optional. 
In  the  June  number.  Senor  M.  P.  de 
Figueroa  seeks  to  explain  the  presence  of 
French  stamps  and  a  French  postmark  on  a 
letter  from  Cuba.  He  argues  that  the 
French  consuls  in  Cuba  probably  act  as 
packet  agents,  and  forward  letters  prepaid 
with  French  stamps.  The  editor,  in  a  foot- 
note, states  that  he  has  been  informed  that 
letters  brought  from  Cuba  by  the  French 
packet  are  not  prepaid  at  the  consulate,  as 
Senor  de  Figueroa  supposes,  but  on  board 
the  boat  itself,  to  which  the  public  have  to 
carry  their  letters. 

XEWLY-ISSUED    OR   IXEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Mexico. — It  turns  out.  as  we  had  suspected, 
that  the  new  series  numbers  among  its 
values  a  6  centavos  and  a  100  centavos. 
The  6  c.  is  distinguished  from  the  other  four 
values  by  the  word  of  value  reading  from 
the    top    downwards,    instead    of  from    the 

\  bottom  upwards,  as  on  the  other  stamps. 
This  value  is  printed  a  pale  yellowish  green. 
The  100  centavos  is  in  lilac  :  the  12  c.  (which 
has  the  denomination  on  the  rigid  side,  in- 
stead of  on  the  left,  as  in  the  other  values)  is 

:  found  in  blue  and  dark  blue,  and  the  2o  c. 
in  pale  red  and  vermilion.  We  felt  some 
doubt  last  month  as  to  the  effigy  being  that 
of  Juarez ;  and  our  scepticism  has  been 
shared  by  our  oonfreres,  one  of  whom  hints 
that  it  may  really  be  that  of  Hidalgo.  On 
the  whole,  however,  whilst  admitting  that 
the  portrait  has  something  monk-like  about 
it,  we  are  inclined  to  believe  it  to  be  that  of 
Juarez.  It  will  not  do  to  attach  too  much 
importance  to  a  fancied  clerical  air,  and  there 
is  no  special  reason  for  supposing  that  the 
chancre  of  emission  would  lead  to  a  chansre 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


103 


in  the  effigy  ;  moreover,  the  portrait  of 
Juarez  on  the  preceding  series  is  hardly  less 
ecclesiastical  in  appearance  than  that  on  the 
new  comers. 

The  editor  of  Le  Timbre-Poste  has  received 
some  unused  50  centavos  yellow,  of  the  1868 
type,  surcharged  with  the  word  anotaoo, 
in  round  hand,  in  black.  He  suggests  that 
it  may  be  a  mark  placed  by  the  admini- 
stration upon  the  genuine  stamps  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  forgeries  concocted  in 
Mexico  :  this  we  venture  to  doubt,  bearing 
in  mind  that  the  Colombian  stamp,  with  let- 
ter A  (signifiying  anotado)  in  centre,  is  used, 
according  to  some,  as  an  unpaid  letter,  and, 
according  to  others,  as  a  registration  stamp. 
Russia. — The  stamped  post  cards,  of  which 
we  announced  the  emission,  made  their  ap- 
pearance punctually  at  the  promised  date — 
the  1st  May,  and  we  now  pre- 
sent an  illustration  of  the  im- 
pressed design  which  they 
bear  on  the  right  upper  cor- 
ner. The  cards  are  of  the 
same  size  as  the  unstamped 
one,  but  they  appear  at  first 
sight  to  be  larger.  The  avail- 
able space  is  augmented  to  the  extent  of 
quite  a  centimetre  each  way,  by  carrying  the 
border  nearly  to  the  edge  of  the  card;  thus 
room  has  been  found  to  increase  the  number 
of  lines  destined  to  receive  the  address  from 
five  to  six.  The  design  is  an  entirely  new 
one,  with  the  exception  only  of  the  imperial 
arms,  in  the  left  upper  corner,  which  appear 
to  be  a  transfer  from  the  unstamped  cord. 
The  border  is  of  a  much  lighter  pattern,  and 
a  graceful  inner  frame  has  been  added.  The 
Russian  inscription,  signifying  correspond- 
ence card,  is  in  very  bold  type,  more  than 
double  the  size  of  the  same  inscription  on  the 
unstamped  emission.  On  the  3  kop.,  below 
this  inscription,  are  the  words — for  the  town  ; 
and  on  the  5  kop.,  in  the  same  place — -for  the 
country.  The  former  also  bears  a  notice,  to 
the  effect  that  it  is  intended  for  the  town 
only,  and  may  be  thrown  into  the  letter- 
boxes for  delivery  by  any  of  the  town  offices; 
whilst  the  latter  has  a  similarly  worded 
notice,  to  the  effect  that  the  card  may  be  for- 
warded through  any  post-office  in  the  empire. 
The  printer's  address,  in  a  slightly  abbrevi- 


ated form,  is  inserted  in  the  border  itself, 
instead  of  being  below,  as  in  the  unstamped 
cards.  The  colour  of  the  cards  sent  us  by 
our  St.  Petersburg  correspondent  is  a  pale 
grey,  though  M.  Moens  quotes  the  emission 
as  being  on  white.  The  3  kop.  is  printed  of 
a  reddish-brown ;  the  5  kop.,  of  a  deep 
chrome-green.  The  inscriptions  on  the 
back  are  precisely  the  same  as  on  the  first- 
issued  card. 

The  Belgian  paper  notes  the  arrival  of  the 
1,  3,  5,  10,  and  20  kop.  adhesives  on  verti- 
cally and  horizontally  laid  paper,  with  un- 
dulations in  watermark.  It  also  states  that 
the  10  kop.  envelope  now  has  the  stamp 
struck  on  the  right,  instead  of  the  left. 

Russian  Locals. — The  June  number  of  le 
Tiuihre-P^ste  contains  notices  of  two  entirely 
new  locals,  engravings  of  two  older  ones  de- 
scribed in  our  list,  and  a  valuable  analysis 
of  the  Bogorodsk  type.  We  will  take  the 
two  novelties  first,  and  then  proceed  with  the 
notice  of  the  others. 

Cherson  (Cherscn). — 
s^j^gfc^  This  new  stamp  may  be 
?  described  as  the  secoi  d 
seen  from  a  distance.  It 
is  simply  a  reduced  copy 
of  its  predecessor.  It  is 
perforated  12|,  and  printed 
red. 

Bronniizi  (Moscow). — 
This,  like  the  Charkoff,  noticed  and  engraved 
in  our  February  number,  seems  to  be  model- 
led on  the  design  of  the 
first  type  of  the  Bogorodsk, 
which  is  not  surprising 
when  we  consider  that  it 
comes  from  the  same  gov- 
ernment as  the  latter — 
that  of  Moscow.  In  the 
size,  the  corner  numerals, 
the  serrated  outer  border, 
and  the  shape  of  the  in- 
scribed oval,  there  is  a  great  resemblance  to 
the  Bogorodsk  ;  but  in  place  of  an  armorial 
design  we  get  a  plain  figure  of  value  in  the 
centre.  The  inscription  signifies  rural  post 
of  the  bronnitzl  district.  The  impression 
is  in  bright  vermilion.  The  Stamp-Collector's 
Journal  describes  this  design  as  emanating 
from  Borovitchi,  which  must  be  a  mistake. 


104 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


Kolomna  (Moscow). — This  stamp  is  rough- 
ly perforated  1\  to  8.  The 
design,  a  crowned  pillar  be- 
tween two  stars,  deserves 
the  elucidation  which  it 
wTill  doubtless  receive  at 
the  hands  of  one  or  other 
of  our  obliging  correspond- 
ents. The  colour  is  ver- 
milion. The  fact  of  its 
being  perforated  is  duly  noticed  in  our  list, 
vol.  ix.,  p.  97. 

Bnrovitchi  (Novgorod). — Lozenge-shaped 
stamps  seem  to  be  popular  with  the  Russian 
local  authorities.  To  the 
Egorieff  and  the  Pskoff 
must  now  be  added  the  an- 
nexed design,  replacing  the 
quaint  red -brown  type 
which  formed  the  first 
emission.  The  value  is  5 
kopecs  ;  the  impression  is 
in  black,  with  the  exception 
of  the  frame,  which  is  in  vermilion  ;  white 
paper. 

Bngorodsh  (Moscow). — The  following  is 
M.  Moens'  analysis  of  three  types  issued  for 
this  district,  of  which  the  third  is  a  new  dis- 
covery, and  probably  a  new  emission. 

Type  1.  Type  2. 


Type  1. — 5kop.  blue;  5  kop.  bright  vermilion,  on  slightly 
yellowish  tinted  white  paper. 

This  design,  in  both  colours,  has  been 
found  by  M.  Moens'  correspondent  to  exist 
also  on  newspaper  bands,  measuring  49 
centimetres  (20  inches !  )  of  which  (3|  cent, 
in  length  are  gummed.  As  the  stamps  are 
not  perforated,  and  the  design  impressed  on 
the  band  falls  on  that  portion  which  is  gum- 
med at  the  back,  there  would  seem  to  be  no 
means  of  distinguishing  the  label  from  the 


~\yv\n_ny\ru-iru-i-r>  t 


newspaper  stamp,  when  the  latter  is  cut  out 
of  the  band  on  which  it  is  printed.  A  1  and  a 
10  kop.  were  chronicled  by  our  correspond- 
ent last  year  (p.  97),  but  have  not  yet  found 
their  way  across. 

Type  2. — Adhesives. — 5  kop.  blue.     10  kop.  yellowish 
red.     On  paper  slightly  blued. 
Envelopes  (design  impressed   on  the  flap) — 
5  kop.  blue  on  white  laid  envelope — 14  by 

11  centimetres. 
10  kop.  blue  and  very  pale  blue,  on  white 
wove  envelope;  19  by  13|  centimetres. 
Type  3.-  A  roughly  executed  lithograph  of  the  second 
type  ;  St.  George  much  larger,  and  looking 
as  if  mounted  on  a  wooden  horse. 
Aahesives. — 1   kop.    violet-red,     pale    and 
bright. 
5  kop.  pale  rose  and  brownish  rose. 

Sierra  Leone. — We  have  now  the  pleasure 
to  give  the  engraving  of  the 
new    shilling   stamp,    which 
reached  us  too  late  for  inser- 
tion in  our  last  number. 

Portuguese  Ineies. — The 
three  English  philatelic 
journals  are  severally  re- 
buked in  the  June  number  of 
Lh  Timbre-Poste,  for  their  sins 
of  omission  or  commission,  in  connection 
with  their  notice  of  the  stamps  for  these 
colonies.  Our  own  transgression  consisted 
in  reading  M.  Moens'  statement  that  the 
stamps  were  perforated  16  as  being  that  they 
were  postmarked  16,  and  we  willingly  make 
due  acknowledgment  of  our  error,  as  it  told 
considerably  against  the  stamps,  which  we 
should  be  sorry  to  condemn  without  due 
reason.  Their  introducer  now  states  that  all 
the  specimens  he  has  seen  are  postmarked 
No.  1,  and  that  the  c  in  servico  should  be 
written  with  a  cedilla.  Our  Birmingham 
contemporary  seems  inclined  to  place  faith 
in  these  stamps. 

Ceylon. — We  find,  in  the  current  number 
of  The  American  Journal  of  Philately,  a 
coloured  illustration  of  a  Cingalese  post  card 
which  has  just  made  its  appearance,  and 
evidences  the  intention  of  the  island  postal 
authorities  not  to  do  things  by  halves.  The 
design  of  the  new  2  cents  adhesive  (a  value 
which,  it  must  be  remembered,  equals  only 
an  English  halfpenny)  is  impressed  in  the 
right  upper  corner.  The  inscriptions  run- 
the  card  are   disposed   in   the 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


105 


same  manner  as  those  on  the  English  ones  ; 
first  post  card,  then  the  royal  arms,  and  then 

—  THE    ADDRESS    ONLY   TO    BE    WRITTEN    ON    THIS 

side.  A  broad  marginal  frame, is  nearly 
filled  with  inscriptions  in  Cingalese  and 
Tamil ;  the  spaces  on  either  side  of  these  in- 
scriptions being  occupied  with  graceful 
foliate  ornaments.  The  directions  are  re- 
peated in  the  same  languages  at  the  back, 
and  on   the  reverse  left  hand   side  are  the 

words,    LETTER   TO    BE    WRITTEN    ON    THIS    SIDE. 

The  impression  is  in  lilac,  on  a  buff  card  of 
about  the  same  shade. 

Wurtemburg. — We  have  omitted  to  men- 
tion that  this  country  on  the*  1st  January 
last  issued  a  stamped  wrapper  for  printed 
matter,  bearing  an  impression  from  the  die 
of  the  1  kr.  adhesive,  and  surrounded  by 
a  dotted  line,  coloured  green  in  places,  and 
formed,  apparently,  by  the  .^perforating 
"  rule,"  which  here  and  there  nearly  pierces 
the  paper.  A  broad  band  of  green  runs  lon- 
gitudinally on  either  side  of  the  wrapper. 

Prince  Edward  Island. — The  list  of  va- 
lues of  the  new  series,  which  we   gave   in 


April,  partly  from  ocular  inspection,  and 
partly  relying  on  the  information  given  by  a 
magazine  whose  pretentions  to  accuracy  are 
generally  known — The  American  Journal  of 
Philately — requires  correction,  and  some  ad- 
ditions have  also  to  be  made  to  it.  The 
corrected  list  now  reads  as  follows,  but  it 
may  require  further  amendment : 

One     cent  orange-red,  yellow- orange. 

Two      „  blue. 

Three    „  rose. 

Four     „  yellowish  green. 

Six        ,,  black. 

Ten       ,,  rosy  lilac.  (?) 

Twelve,, 

We  annex  engravings  of  the  4,  6,  and  10 


r«j-uT_n_r^-._rLrun_o_,\_i 


cents.  The  designs,  in  our  opinion,  show 
some  slight  improvement  on  those  of  the  one 
and  three  cents  ;  they  are 
not  so  repulsively  coarse. 
The  two  cents  also,  which 
we  have  received  too  late 
to  permit  of  our  engraving 
it  in  time  for  the  present 
number,  is  more  success- 
ful. Its  design  consists 
of  the  Queen's  head,  on 
a  solid  elongated  upright 
oval  disk,  enclosed  in  a  narrow  dotted  frame, 
above  which,  in  a  well-drawn  arch,  following 
the  line  of  the  oval,  and  descending  about 
mid-way  down  the  stamp,  is  the  inscription, 
in  white  letters — prince  edward  island 
postage.  The  upper  angles  have  good  sized 
square  disks,  bearing  the  numeral  of  value, 
and  the  value  and  numerals  occupy  the 
lower  margin,  as  in  the  other  types.  The 
colour  is  ultramarine  blue.  The  portrait  of 
the  Queen  is  evidently  a  rough  but  pretentious 
copy  of  one  of  the  De  la  Rue  profiles.  The 
twelve  cents,  first  noticed  by  The  Philatelical 
Journal,  has  the  portrait  of  the  Queen  in  an 
ornamental  circle,  the  inscription  in  an  arch 
above,  numerals  in  upper  angles,  and  the 
value  in  lower  margin.  The  colour  of  the 
specimen  from  which  our  contemporary  de- 
scribes— rosy  lilac — is  also  that  quoted  for 
the  10  c.  in  Le  Timbre-poste.  but  as  it  is 
hardly  likely  that  the  same  colour  would  be 
given  to  both  stamps,  there  is  some  mistake 
— probably  the  result  of  a  slip  of  the  pen,  on 
the  part  of  the  Belgian  magazine. 

Mr.  S.  A.  Taylor,  of  Boston  (U.S.),  volun- 
teers the  information  that  the  designs  are  not 
the  work  of  a  Prince  Edward  Islander,  but 
of  a  Londoner,  named  Whiting;* 

Denmark. — The  postal  authorities,  says 
M.  Moens,  have  it  in  contemplation  to  print 

[*  It  is  well  known  that  all  the  stamps  of  Prince 
Edward  Island,  including  the  present  as  well  as  past 
issues,  are  produced  in  the  ateliers  of  Mr.  Charles  Whiting, 
the  well  known  pi-inter  of  Beaufort  House,  London  ;  and 
hearing  in  mind  the  beauty  of  the  numerous  essays  of 
Great  Britain  which  emanated  from  the  same  establish- 
ment years  ago,  we  are  induced  to  conjecture  that  the 
limitations  of  colonial  expenditure  may  have  something 
to  do  with  the  undoubted  inferiority  in  design  of  these 
stamps.  That  fine  engraving  is  expensive  we  know  ; 
that  it  can  be  produced  by  Mr.  Whiting's  bouse  we  also 
know :  hence  our  surmises. — Ed.1 


106 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


their  stamps  in  aniline  colours,  like  those  of 
Russia,  to  prevent  the  erasure  of  the  oblite- 
rations, and  the  employment  a  second  time 
of  stamps  which  have  passed  through  the 
post.  Stamped  wrappers,  value  2  sk.,  hear- 
ing the  same  design  as  the  adhesive  2  sk., 
but  printed  entirely  of  a  light  blue,  have  just 
been  issued.  They  are  about  14  in.  long  by 
3^  in.  wide,  and  have  a  blue  border  running 
lengthwise. 

United  States. — A  registration  stamp  of 
an  entirely  novel  character  has  just  been  is- 
sued ;  in  form  it  is  an  upright  rectangle, 
measuring  about  3  inches  by  1 J  broad ; 
printed  on  plain  unwatermarked  paper  ;  of  a 
pale  green  colour;  perforated  12,  as  the  rest 
of  the  United  States  stamps. 

The  legend  is  united  states  of  America  ; 
post  office  department,  registered,  with  a 
circular  space,  rather  larger  than  a  half- 
crown  in  the  middle,  inscribed,  stamp  here, 
date  and  place  of  mailing.  The  ground- 
work is  formed  of  plain  engine-turning,  in 
lines,  producing  no  particular  effect.  The 
value  is  not  stated  on  its  face.  The  Ameri- 
can Journal  of  Philately  first  noticed  this 
stamp. 

South  African  Republic.  —  We  have 
official  authority  for  stating,  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  fraudulent  employment  of  the 
dies  of  the  present  issue  by  the  printer,  in 
conjunction  with  the  person  named  Enterlein, 
recently  referred  to  in  these  pages,  a  fresh 
series  will  probably  be  prepared  after  the 
new  president,  Mr.  T.  F.  Burgers,  is  sworn 
in — a  ceremony  which  takes  place  this  1st 
instant.  The  designs  are  not  definitively 
decided  on,  but  of  the  two  values  which  it  is 
proposed  to  issue  first — viz.,  the  penny  and 
sixpence — one  will  probably  bear  the  likeness 
of  the  new  president,  and  the  other  will  show 
two  ostriches — a  reference  to  ostrich  feathers, 
which  are  largely  exported  from  the  repub- 
lic. It  is  intended  to  employ  the  American 
Bank  Note  Company  to  execute  the  designs ; 
and  the  colours  and  values  of  the  four 
stamps,  which  will  form  the  complete  series, 
will  be  the  same  as  those  of  the  emission 
now  in  use. 

St.  Thomas  and  Prince. — The  20  reis 
comes  over  of  a  dark  bistre,  and  the  25  reis  is 
at  present  issued  in  vermilion. 


Spain. — The  2  milesimas  is  now  printed  on 
thick  paper  of  a  deep  buff  colour,  and  the 
1  mil.  has  likewise  changed  its  paper,  and  is 
issued  on  rose-pink. 

German  Empire. — The  \  gr.  adhesive  has 
now  made  its  appearance  printed  of  a  dull 
yellowish  orange. 

Holland. — New  postage  stamps  are,  it  is 
said,  on  the  point  of  being  issued  for  this 
kingdom. 

Roumania. — The  5  bani  perf.  now  comes 
over  printed  a  light  red  and  dull  carmine. 

THE    STAMPS   OF   ST.   DOMINGO. 

BY  WARDEN. 

(Reprinted  from  The  Philatelist). 
"  Jam  pudet :   et  tinieo     .... 

Otfensos  videar  ne  meruisse  deos." — Cydippe  Acontio. 

The  island  of  St.  Domingo  (or  Haiti)  is 
divided  into  two  republics  :  the  eastern  two- 
thirds  of  the  island,  St.  Domingo  ;  the 
western  one-third,  Haiti.  The  former  only 
has  issued  stamps, — pace  S.  A.  Taylor  and 
his  25  c.  Haiti,  so  deftly  set  afloat, — and 
with  these,  after  much  hesitation,  we  propose 
to  deal.  At  present,  we  are  unable  to  give 
the  exact  dates  of  the  different  issues  or  va- 
rieties ;  but  in  a  mail  or  two  we  hope  to  hear 
that  the  search  instituted  by  an  energetic 
correspondent  for  official  decrees  has  proved 
successful.  In  the  following  list,  all  that  is 
attempted  is  to  give  a  description  of  such 
stamps  as  are  known  to  us,  and  to  arrange 
them,  as  far  as  our  data  allow,  in  chrono- 
logical order.  If  only  we  can  provoke 
discussion  of  the  subject,  something  will  be 
gained ;  and  then,  perhaps,  facts  may  be 
brought  to  light,  which  will  enable  some 
competent  writer  to  construct  a  cosmos  out 
of  the  chaos  which  we  are  powerless  to 
reduce  to  order.  Much  as  we  should  like  to 
be  able  to  adopt  the  excellent  arrangement  of 
types,  species,  and  varieties,  applied  so  suc- 
cessfully to  the  stamps  of  Western  Australia 
by  Mr.  Pemberton,  to  do  so  is  out  of  the 
question  in  the  present  case,  owing  to  our 
ignorance.  So  long  as  the  normal  colours  of 
the  upright  rectangular  series  are  unknown, 
— if  indeed  there  is  anything  normal  about  it, 
— that  is  impossible  ;  and  much  as  we  regret 
it,  we  can  do  no  better  than  as  follows  :  — 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


107 


Type  I.  1862-4.  Shield  bearing  arms  of 
the  republic  ;  COEREOS  placed 
vertically  to  right,  reading 
downwards  ;  value  in  italics, 
to  left,  reading  upwards  ;  all 
within  a  single-line  frame. 
Black  impression  on  coloured 
paper;  unperforated;  square. 

On  thin  hard  wove  paper  : 


Medio  real 
Un  real 

On  thick  soft  icove : 

Medio  real 


Typ 


pink, 
green, 

pink. 

e  II.     1865, 


Shield 


as  in  L,  CORREOS  to  right; 
value  in  Roman  letters  to 
left,  both  reading  down- 
wards ;  all  within  a  wave- 
line  frame.  Black  impres- 
sion on  coloured  paper  ;  un- 
perforated ;  square. 

On  laid  paper : 

Medio  real  pale  green. 

Unreal  straw. 

Un  real  pale  brown  (?  discoloration) . 

Type  III.  1866,  and  still  current.  Shield 
charged  as  in  L,  but  smaller,  between 
branches  tied  below;  ribbon 
above,  inscribed  Dios  T  atria 
Liberiad  ;  ribbon  below,  with- 
out motto  ;  COREEOS  in  straight 
label  at  top;  value  in  words 
in  similar  label  at  bottom  ;  all 
within  double-line  frame,  up- 
right rectangular ;  unperfo- 
rated. 

(a)  Black  impression  on  coloured  paper. 

\    REAL. 

On  laid  paper : 


1866  Medio  real 
On  ivove  paper : 

1866  Medio  real 

1867  „        „ 
1869       „        „ 

On  pelure  paper : 
1867  Medio  real 
(?)        ,,        » 
(?)        „        » 


ft 

(?) 
(?) 


straw. 


deep  pink. 

pink. 

flesh. 


pale  pink. 

pale  salmon. 

pale  grey. 

lavender. 

pale  green. 

olive. 

drab. 

yellow. 

very  bright  yellow. 


On  pelure  paper,  extra  thin 

1868  Medio  real 

1869  „        „ 


blue-lilac, 
greyish  drab. 

1    REAL. 

On  paper  icatermarked  with  diaper  ofjleurs-de-lis  : 

1866  Un  real  green. 

On  ivove  paper : 

1866  Un  real 
„      Un  real 


,,      No  inscription 
or  value 
1869  Unreal 

On  laid  paper  : 

1866  Un  real 
On  pelure  paper  : 

(?)  1863  Un  real 
18S7        „ 

On  wove  paper : 

(?)  1869  un  real 


On  laid  paper  : 

(?)  1869  un  real 
On  pelure  paper  : 

P)  un  real 

1868 


blue. 

blue  {Unreal  as  tbough 
one  word). 

blue. 

water-  green. 


green . 

pale  green, 
pale  lavender. 
light  blue. 


green, 
deep  blue, 
salmon. 


pale  green. 

pale  drab, 
pale  pink, 
pink, 
salmon. 


^   REAL. 

(b)  Colour  on  colour. 
On  wove  paper : 

1871  Medio  real  blue  on  pink. 

This  last-named  stamp  is  found  both  light 
and  dark  blue,  and  on  both  light  and  deep 
pink  paper,  and  has  coreeos  and  value  in 
black  letters.  M.  Moens  announces  also  one 
on  magenta,  but  from  copies  received  a  few 
days  since,  we  incline  to  call  them  deep  pink. 
The  contrast  between  the  blue  and  pink  tends 
to  give  the  latter  an  apparently  magenta  hue. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  some  of  the  fore- 
going shades  are  the  result  of  exposure  ;  but 
since° such  shades  undoubtedly  exist,  it  has 
been  thought  best,  in  a  tentative  paper,  to 
enumerate  them.  The  only  stamps  issued 
with  gum,  we  believe  to  be  the  Medio  real 
(blue-lilac),  the  Un  real  (pale  lavender),  and 
the  UN  real  green,  on  wove.  Of  the  wove 
paper  UN  real  deep  blue  and  salmon,  we, 
autoptically,  know  nothing,  but  include  them 
on  the  authority  of  M.  Moens.  The  rarest 
stamps  apparently  are  the  Medio  real 
(pelure),  very  bright  yellow,  and  the  Un  real 


103 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


(on  watermarked  paper)  green.  This  last 
may.  however,  prove  fairly  common,  as 
doubtless,  owing  to  the  indistinctness  of  the 
watermark,  the  peculiarity  has  escaped 
notice.  At  present,  we  only  know  of  two 
copies, — one  in  the  Ph.  collection,  and  the 
other  in  that  of  the  editor  of  this  magazine. 

Since  the  above  was  in  type,  we  have 
received  from  H.  B.  M.,  Consul  at  Santo 
Domingo  a  letter,  dated  March  10.  1S7"2.  in 
which  he  says  : — "  *  *  *  Since  my  estab- 
lishment in  this  country,  I  have  never  known 
any  other  postage  stamps  in  circulation  than 
those  which  are  at  present  in  use.  I  have 
inquired  of  the  comptroller,  as  well  as  of  the 
postmaster,  and  neither  has  been  able  to  • 
afford  me  information  of  previous  issues. 
The  frequent  changes  of  government,  as  well 
as  of  postmasters,  render  it  well-nigh  im- 
possible to  get  at  the  facts  :  but,  according 
to  information  I  have  had  from  old  inhab- 
itants, there  have  never  been  other  stamps 
than  those  now  in  use."  The  above  is  only 
another  instance  of  those  on  the  spot  being 
badly  posted  up  in  matters  which  foreigners 
have  long  been  acquainted  with.  As  ex- 
amples of  the  stamps  in  use  at  the  date  of 
his  letter,  he  encloses  the  Medio  real  blue  on 
pink,  and  the  UH  real  green:  this  latter 
gummed. 

We  append  an  illustration  of  a  DOS  eeales 
carmine,  introduced  by  Mr.  Chute,  of  Boston, 
in  1867.  For  a  time  it 
passed  among  collectors  as 
a  veritable  issue,  but  at 
length  proved  worthy  of 
its  sponsor.  As  far  as  we 
are  aware,  that  gentleman 
has  not  hitherto  responded 
to  Mr.  Pemberton's  chal- 
lenge in  I~ :  Stamp-GoUec-  ! 
tor's  Mugazine  of  May,  1569,  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  his  relative's  good  fortune  in  meeting 
with  the  stamp.  The  letter  of  Mr.  Charles 
Drummond,  in  this  journal  for  June,  1867 
(written  in  support  of  the  then  recently- 
announced  novelty),  confesses  to  "  a  friend 
in  the  West-Indian  commission  business." 
What  splendid  fellows  these  new-world  phi- 
latelists are  !  Who  on  this  side  of  the  water 
would  have  hit  on  this  delicate  euphemism 
for  "a  purveyor  of  Boston  humbugs  !  " 


OCCASIONAL  NOTES. 
The  Monetary  System  of  the  Deocax. — 
"  In  the  Deccan  they  have  a  money  system, 
which  '  no  fellow  can  understand :  '  I  can't, 
though  I  have  specimens  of  the  coinage  (?), 
— beginning  with  a  cowrie  (a  little  shell), 
and  a  cubic  lump  of  copper,  up  to  some  very 
beautiful  gold  coins — and  a  most  elaborate 
table  for  calculating  exchange.  However, 
the  rupee  in  use  there  is  the  sicca  rupee, 
worth  less  than  our  rupee  :  consequently,  the 
anna  and  the  half  anna  are  worth  less  than 
our  anna  and  half  anna. '" — F.  H..  Madras. 


We  have  received  a  communication  from 
that  philatelic  Ishmael,  Mr.  S.  A.  Taylor,  in 
which  he  contests  our  argument  that  the 
Hawaiian  stamps  surcharged  specimen  and 
DAS jzlled,  respectively,  are  reprinted.  He 
states  that  he  has  made  certain  inquiries  on 
the  subject,  and,  upon  the  authority  of  an 
old  resident  in  Honolulu,  he  informs  us  that 
there  are  but  three  printing-offices  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  none  of  which  possess 
copper-plate  presses  :  ';  consequently,  the  5  c. 
or  13  c.  have  not  been  reprinted."  He  adds, 
t;  The  2  c.  is  a  lithograph,  and  there  is  no 
lithographic  press  in  Honolulu,  or  elsewhere 
in  the  islands.  If  reprinted,  then  these 
plates  must  have  been  conveyed  to  the 
United  Stares  ;  and  the  most  probable  place 
in  which  to  have  the  reprinting  done,  would 
be  in  this  city  ~Boston_.  where  the  stamps 
themselves  were  originally  executed.  T  e 
tes  have  not  been  here.  Is  it  impossible 
that  there  should  be  any  ;  remainders'  in 
Hawaii P"  The  writer  assures  us  that  his 
statements  are  positively  true  and  correct  in 
every  particular,  and  we  are  inclined  to 
accept  them  as  such. 


S  :  JfETHDJG  rich  in  the  way  of  albums  is 
announced  by  the  Jjii'Ascue  Briefmarkert- 
Zeitung.  A  Leipsic  collector — Mr.  K.  F. 
Albrecht — is  preparing  one,  of  which  only 
twenty  copies  will  be  printed,  price  £22  10s. 
each  !  The  German  magazine  gives  a  long 
list  of  its  promised  excellencies.  Space  is  to 
be  found  in  it  for  everything.  It  will 
necessarily  be  bulky,  and  two  large  volumes 
will    not    be    too    manv    fur    its    intended 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


109 


contents.  The  text  is  to  be  in  three  languages 
— English,  French,  and  German.  Paper 
and  all  accessories  are  to  be  of  unexceptional 
excellence.  The  list  of  the  subscribers' 
names  is  to  be  inscribed  on  the  fly-leaf.  If 
these  advantages  are  not  sufficient  to  induce 
moneyed  collectors  to  lay  out  ]  50  thalers 
on  a  work  they  will  not  be  able  to  see  until 
it  is  finished,  then  we  would  recommend 
them  to  get  an  album  prepared  specially  for 
their  collections,  which  would  probably,  after 
all,  be  the  more  preferable  alternative. 
Although  it  is  not  intended  to  print  more 
than  twenty  copies,  the  projector  does  not 
say  whether,  in  the  event  of  getting  thirty 
applications,  he  would  decline  the  last  ten. 


When  The  Philatelist  informed  its  readers 
that  the  design  on  the  stamps  of  the  Orange 
Free  State  was  intended  to  represent  the 
"  Tree  of  Liberty,"  we  felt  some  doubt  as  to 
the  correctness  of  its  statement.  Our  incre- 
dulity has,  however,  vanished  before  the 
proofs  which  have  been  furnished  us  of  the 
true  signification  of  the  design.  On  the 
engravings  of  the  arms  of  the  state,  which 
adorns  its  Official  Gazette  and  Friend  news- 
paper, the  tree  is  surcharged  with  a  label 
bearing  the  word  vryheid,  or  "Liberty." 
The  fruit  with  which  the  tree  on  the  stamps 
is  covered,  was  a  very  confusing  addition 
made  by  the  engraver  of  his  own  accord,  and 
he  is  therefore  responsible  for  the  general 
supposition  that  it  is  an  orange- tree.  There 
is  no  ground  for  arguing  that  the  fruit  is 
intended  to  represent  cannon-balls.  The 
three  pendants  are  "powder-horns,  as  made 
and  used  by  the  African  boers,  and  not  peace- 
ful post-horns.  The  country  derives  its 
name  from  the  Orange  river,  and  not  from 
the  orange-tree  (which  does  not  thrive  there 
at  all),  as  the  engraver  must  have  supposed." 
Thus  says  our  obliging  informant,  the  Post- 
master-general of  the  South  African  He- 
public. 

The  right  of  printing  and  forwarding 
through  the  post  private  post  cards,  is 
subject  to  the  restrictions  enumerated  in  the 
following  notice. 

Private  Post  Cards. — The  postmaster-general  has 
issued  the  following  notices: — "That  on  and  after  the 


17th  June,  private  cards  may  he  taken  to  the  office  of 
Inland  Revenue,  to  he  impressed  with  a  halfpenny  stamp, 
under  conditions  which  may  be  learnt  on  application  at 
that  office;  and,  when  thus  impressed,  hut  not  otherwise 
(for  adhesive  stamps  will  not  be  accepted  in  payment  of 
the  postage),  they  may  be  transmitted  through  the  post 
between  places  in  the  United  Kingdom,  under  the  follow- 
ing regulations  : — 1.  The  words  "  Post  Card  "  and  "  The 
address  only  to  be  written  on  this  side  "  must  be  printed 
on  the  front  of  the  cards,  as  in  the  case  of  the  official  post 
card — the  Royal  arms  being  omitted  ;  but  there  must  be 
nothing  else  (the  address  excepted)  printed,  written,  or 
otherwise  impressed  upon  the  face  of  the  cards.  2. 
Nothing  whatever  may  be  attached  to  the  cards.  3.  The 
cards  must  not  be  folded,  nor  may  they  be  cut,  or  in  any 
way  altered,  after  they  have  been  impressed  with  the 
halfpenny  stamp  at  the  Office  of  Inland  Revenue.  4.  On 
the  back  of  the  cards  any  communication,  whether  of  the 
nature  of  a  letter  or  otherwise,  may  be  written  or  printed  ; 
but  such  communication  must  not  extend  to  the  front  side. 
Private  cards  will  not  be  supplied  to  postmasters  for  sale 
to  the  public.  It  must  be  distinctly  understood  that  no 
cards,  except  those  which  are  impressed  with  a  halfpenny 
stamp  at  the  Office  of  Inland  Revenue,  can  pass  through 
the  post  for  a  postage  of  a  halfpenny,  if  they  have  any- 
thing of  the  nature  of  a  letter  written  upon  them.  There 
seems  to  be  much  misapprehension  upon  this  point." 

Why  a  plain  card  of  the  regulation  size, 
and  prepaid  with  a  halfpenny  adhesive,  is 
not  to  be  allowed  to  pass  through  the  post, 
is  more  than  we  can  understand. 


Two  interesting,  unofficial  gatherings  of 
the  members  of  the  philatelic  society  took 
place  during  the  past  month  at  Dr..  Viner's 
residence,  the  object  being  the  comparison 
of  the  members'  collections  of  the  stamps  of 
certain  specified  countries.  On  the  1st  of 
June,  Spain  was  the  country  selected  ; 
several  good  collections  were  shown,  but  the 
interest  centered  in  two  remarkably  'fine 
ones — those  of  Sir  Daniel  Cooper  and  another; 
for  interesting  varieties  and  completeness 
they  could  hardly  be  surpassed.  On  the  13th 
June,  France  and  Belgium  were  made  the 
subjects,  and  again  Sir  Daniel  Cooper's 
collection  took  the  lead,  in  company  with 
that  of  Dr.  Viner.  At  this  second  meeting, 
Mr.  Ysasi  produced  a  very  fine  specimen  of 
the  1  real  dark  violet  Luzon  of  the  first 
1863  series,  obliterated,  and  consequently  of 
great  rarity  ;  also  the  following  Luzon 
stamps,  surcharged  habilitado  por  la  nacion, 
5  cuartos  CORREOS  interior,  red;  1  real  green ; 
and  25  c.  light  orange.  The  first-named  is 
noticed  by  M.  Moens  in  the  current  number 
of  his  journal,  but  the  specimen  to  which  he 
refers  has  been  for  some  time  in  this  country. 


no 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


Sir  Daniel  Cooper  showed  a  rare — and,  we 
may  say,  unique — Spanish  official  stamp, 
issued  in  1854,  of  which  the  design  consists 
of  the  Queen's  head  embossed  on  green, 
something  after  the  fashion  of  the  1853 
Italian,  the  inscription,  correo  oficial,  1 
libra,  1854,  running  round  the  circle.  We 
hope  these  interesting  reunions  will  be 
continued. 

REVIEWS  of  POSTAL  PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Amateur  Printer's  Journal  and  Foreign 
Stamp  Gazette.     Leeds  :  Wightman. 

As  an  amateur  printer's  journal  this  is  a 
creditable  performance,  though  even  an 
amateur  need  not  have  allowed  "  How  I 
climed  a  Tree"  to  go  to  press.  As  a 
foreign  stamp  gazette  it  is  nowhere.  An 
article  on  Stamp  Collecting,  by  J.  E.  Gray, 
"  reprinted  from  one  of  his  books,"  and  a 
catalogue  of  stamps  constitute  its  sole  attrac- 
tion. We  are  surprised  to  find  such  sound- 
ing pretentions  so  poorly  supported. 


The  Odontometer.    Bath  :   Alfred  Smith  &  Co. 

The  idea  of  an  odontometer  is  due  to  Dr. 
Magnus— the  very  word,  signifying  literally 
a  tooth-measurer,  was  laid  down  by  him ;  and 
in  Le  Timhre-Poste,  five  years  ago,  the  first 
odontometer  was  published  by  him  in 
illustration  of  an  article  on  perforations. 
The  able  writer  who  signs  himself  "A 
Parisian  Collector  "  has  copied  and  improved 
on  this  original,  and  has  had  his  copy 
lithographed  on  cardboard  for  the  use  of 
philatelists.  It  is  very  neatly  got  up,  and 
the  scale  comprises  all  the  principal  perfo- 
rations, from  7  to  16.  These  are  indicated 
by  dots  running  at  proportioned  intervals 
across  lines  of  two  centimetres  in  length, 
and  to  measure  perforations  the  stamps  have 
only  to  be  fitted  in  just  below  the  line,  when 
it  will  at  once  be  seen  wrhether  the  dots  on 
the  line  occupy  the  spaces  between  the 
teeth  of  the  perforations  ;  if  not,  then  another 
line  must  be  tried,  until  the  right  one  be 
found.  The  engraver's  proof  of  the  odon- 
tometer was,  we  are  told,  returned  to  him 
several  times,  because  it  was  found  to  be 
inaccurate,  the   dots   somehow   did  not  fall 


exactly  in  their  proper  places ;  at  length  the 
'  cause  of  the  variation'  was  discovered ;  the 
proofs  were  taken  on  damp  card,  and  when 
;  it    dried    the    surface    slightly    contracted. 
''  When  this  was  remedied  the  printing  off  was 
j  proceeded  with.     The    perforation-gauge   is 
j  surrounded  by  a  neat  border,  and  inscription 
j  indicating  the  price — one  shilling — and  the 
;  publisher's  address.      The  entire  card  mea- 
!  sures  about  4|  by  2|  in. ;    but  the  purchaser 
J  can,  if  he  like,  cut  away  all  the  superfluous 
j  card,  and  leave  only  the  gauge  itself,  which 
|  can  then  be  slipped  into  the  smallest  card- 
case,  and  being  thus  portable,  can  be  called 
into  service  at  any  moment.     We  strongly 
recommend    the    odontometer    to    all   who 
study  perforations. 

The  Permanent  Pustage-Stamp  Album.  By 
H.  Stafford  Smith.  Second  edition. 
London  :  E.  Marlborough  &  Co.,  ; 
Brighton  :  Stafford  Smith  &  Co. 
The  second  edition  of  this  really  valuable 
work  has  been  out  for  some  time,  aud  is  no 
doubt  making  fair  progress  towards  ex- 
haustion. The  prediction  of  popularity  with 
which  we  accompanied  our  review  of  the 
first  edition  has  been  fully  verified,  and  it 
appears  that  our  own  approval  of  the  plan 
on  which  it  is  arranged  has  been  confirmed 
by  "hosts"  of  private  collectors.  En- 
couraged by  its  success,  the  editor  and  pub- 
lishers have  bestowed  increased  pains  on  the 
compilation,  and  in  the  important  accessories 
of  printing,  paper,  and  binding,  nothing  is 
wanting.  The  binding  is  specially  note- 
worthy, as  it  is  the  first  feature  to  which  the 
eye  is  drawn  ;  and  the  style  in  which  the  title 
is  printed  across  the  front  cover  in  black  aud 
gold,  is  really  admirable.  Having  opened 
the  serviceable  spring  lock,  which  preserves 
the  contents  of  the  book  from  the  forays  of 
incautious  fingers,  we  get  to  the  interior,  and 
proceed  to  journey  through.  The  first 
prominent  innovation  which  strikes  us  is  the 
allotment  of  space  for  post  cards.  This  will 
be  welcomed  by  every  purchaser ;  for  post 
cards  are  as  much  in  favour,  and  as  easily 
collectable,  as  adhesives.  Then  we  notice  that 
in  most  cases  oblong  spaces  are  provided 
for  oblong  stamps — an  improvement  which 
wre  suggested  when  reviewing  the  first  edition. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


Ill 


All  the  new  issues  are  duly  represented, 
and  blank  pages  are  plentifully  scattered 
throughout  the  work.  Spaces  are  allotted 
for  most  of  the  Russian  locals.  No  less  than 
three  ruled  pages  follow  those  which  are 
numbered  for  the  emissions  of  Spain,  and 
two  spare  pages  accompany  those  which  are 
given  to  Germany.  The  Hungarian  stamps 
and  post  cards  are  provided  for,  and  two 
spare  pages  follow  that  which  is  destined  to 
receive  the  stamps  of  this  resuscitated  king- 
dom. Under  New  Granada,  the  stamps  of 
Antioquia,  Bolivia,  Cundinamarca,  and  To- 
lima  find  a  place,  and  the  emissions  of  the 
Fiji  Islands,  the  Deccan,  &c,  will  find 
comfortable  compartments  at  their  disposal. 
At  the  end  of  the  volume  is  a  little  fly-leaf, 
containing  the  following  address  : — 
To  the  Purchaser  of  this  Album. 

STAFFORD  SMITH  $  CO.  will  feel  grateful  for 
your  opinion  respecting  the  accompanying  Album  (whether 
that  opinion  be  favourable  or  otherwise)  ;  also  for  sug- 
gestions as  to  any  improvements  you  think  desirable  to  be 
made  in  a  future  edition.  S.  S.  §■  Co.  will  also  be  obliged 
by  your  informing  them  whether  you  consider  a  sufficient 
provision  has  been  made  for  the  stamp  issues  of  future 
years.     Kindly  write  your  remarks  on  the  other  side. 

In  obedience  to  this  request, — which  is 
an  exceedingly  creditable  one  to  the  pub- 
lishers, as  showing  their  intention  to  be 
governed  in  the  compilation  of  future  editions 
by  the  experience  and  the  wishes  of  the 
purchasers  of  the  present  one, — we  venture 
to  make  some  observations,  though  we  can- 
not write  them  "  on  the  other  side."  We 
may  remark,  then,  that  the  only  point  in 
which,  regard  being  had  to  its  object,  the 
album  is  capable  of  improvement,  is  in  the 
distribution  of  the  space  allotted  to  some  of 
the  European  countries.  The  author  does 
not  chronicle  perforated  and  unperforated 
varieties,  but  he  might,  in  most  instances,  so 
arrange  the  squares  as  to  leave  room  for 
the  insertion  of  both  sets.  In  the  pages 
allotted  to  France,  we  also  notice  that  the 
lithographed  and  engraved  stamps  of  1870-71 
are  chronicled  together  as  only  one  series ; 
thus  but  one  20  centimes  is  given,  one  10 
c,  one  40  c,  &c.  ;  whilst  all  the  world 
knows  there  are  two  stamps  of  all  of  these 
values — one  lithographed  and  unperforated, 
the  other  engraved  and  perforated.  We 
must,    however,  in  justice,  accompany  this 


slight  correction  with  the  acknowledgment 
that  no  substantial  harm  is  done  by  the  im- 
perfection of  the  list,  as  two  spare  pages, 
following  immediately  after  those  numbered 
for  France,  form  a  corrective,  containing,  as 
they  do,  sixty-four  blank  squares.  Indeed, 
the  elasticity  and  comprehensiveness  of  this 
album  are  its  most  prominent  characteristics ; 
within  its  covers  there  is  room  enough  for 
the  largest  collection  which  could  be  mount- 
ed in  a  ready-prepared  book,  and  no  other 
album  can  boast  of  such  neatness  and 
elegance  in  its  typographical  arrangements. 

It  is  bound  in  all  styles  to  suit  all  purses, 
and  well  bound  in  every  style.  We  heartily 
commend  it  to  our  readers'  attention,  and 
feel  certain  that  it  will  meet  with  a  ready 
sale. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

THE   SURCHARGED   MEXICAN   STAMPS. 
To  the  Editor  ofli  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Sir, — In  the  very  able  paper  on  "Surcharged  Mexican 
Stamps,"  in  the  May  number  of  The  Philatelical  Journal, 
the  author  says  that  the  number  and  date  is  invariably 
on  the  right  side  in  every  copy  he  has  seen,  of  the  issue 
which  he  then  called  rightly  "  the  present  set." 

On  turning  over  my  stamps,  to  see  how  far  they  agreed 
with  the  above  remarks,  I  found  a  copy  of  the  25  c.  blue 
on  rose-coloured  paper,  surcharged  monterrey  on  the 
right  side  of  the  stamp,  as  it  lies  on  the  page  before  one, 
and  7 — 70  on  the  left  side ;  the  lettering  is  in  Roman 
type. 

Probably  some  of  your  readers  may  assist  in  completing 
the  list,  by  giving  the  names  surcharged  on  the  stamps 
numbered  15,  27,  29,  32,  34,  which  are  returned  as  not 
known,  or  illegible  to  the  author.  It  will  be  seen  that 
Chalco,  Guaymas,  I  del  Carmen,  Pubanco,  and  Tepie,  are 
found  among  the  eagles,  but  not  in  this  series. 
Yours  obediently, 

London.  A.  J.  H. 


NEW  GRANADA  1859,  1860,  &  1861  STAMPS. 
To  the  Editor  of  "  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — I  am  investigating  the  order  of  issue  of 
the  so-called  1859,  1860,  and  1861  sets  of  the  above 
republic.  Will  you  kindly  allow  me  the  use  of  your 
columns,  to  ask  collectors  to  send  me,  to  the  address 
below,  particulars  of  the  postmarks  which  their  copies 
bear  ?  I  shall  esteem  it  a  great  favour  if  you  and  they 
will  thus  oblige  me.  For  the  sake  of  clearness  it  may 
be  well  briefly  to  describe  the  stamps,  about  which 
information  is  desired 

(a.)     "  Cohfed.    Granadina,"  value,  above  aDd  below 
circle,  in  large  figures. 

(b.)     "  Confed.    Granadina,"  value,  above  and  below 
circle,  in  small  figures. 

(c.)     "Est.  Unidos  de  >iueva   Granada"  (large  rect- 
angular.) 

As  the  stamps  are  somewhat  rare,  I  hope  those  who 


112 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


have  but  few  specimens  will  not  therefore  think  their 
copies  incapable  of  contributing  valuable  data. 

One  point  especially  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  about, 
viz.,  the   existence,   or  non-existence,    of  a  postmarked 
copy  of  the  o  c.  lilac  {large  figure)  on  laid  paper. 
Tours  trulv, 

Valley  End,  Bagshot.  C.  S.  ^'ARD. 


THE  TOST  CARDS  OF  THE  ROTTERDAM 

GENERAL  SERVICE  COMPANY. 

To  the  Editor  o/''The  Stamp-Collector's  Maoaztnk." 

Dear  Sir, — In  the  June  number  of  your  magazine  I 
perceive  that  you  have  some  doubts  regarding  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  cards  issued  by  the  Rotterdam  General  Ser- 
vice Company,  and  first  mentioned  by  M.  Moens,  in  his 
Timbre  Post'e  of  last  month.  As  an  inhabitant  of  Rot- 
terdam, I  beg  to  rectify  your  error,  and  to  assure  you  that 
these  cards  are  as  genuine  as  possible,  and  very  generally 
used.  I  myseB;  generally  keep  a  few  in  my  pocket,  and 
when  I  have  to  send  a  message,  into  any  part  of  the  town, 
I  write  the  address  on  the  front,  and  the  message  on  the 
back,  and  then  I  hail  the  first  messenger  of  the  company 
1  meet,  who  is  then  bound  to  deliver  my  message  free  to 
the  address,  the  fare  being  already  paid  by  the  cost  of  the 
card. 

The  price  of  each  card  is  10  cents,  not  10  centimes,  as 
yon  ~:ate. 

As  these  cards  do  not  pass  the  post,  I  do  not  attach  any 
philatelical  value  to  them  ;  but  I  trust  I  have  proved  to 
you  that  they  are  not  to  be  ranked  amongst  "  bogus '' 
novelties,  but  are  a  real  and  genuine  article. 

I  may  add  that  M.  Moens  got  the  information  he  pub- 
lished from  me. 

Enclosing  you  one  of  these  cards  for  inspection,  and  re- 
questing you  to  insert  this  letter  in  your  next  number, 
I  remain,  dear  sir, 

Tours  respectfullv, 

Rotterdam.  W.  MADTGAT. 


THE  PETERSBURG  STAMP. 
To  the  Editor  o/'-The  Stamp -Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir,— On  carefully  perusing  the  article  on  the 
above  stamp  in  the  April  number  of  The  Philatdical 
Journal,  I  have  discovered  that  the  arguments  therein 
set  forth  are  almost  entirely  erroneous;  and,  thinking 
that  the  subject  is  one  of  interest  to  stamp-collectors.  I 
take  pleasure  in  giving  such  facts  as  I  have  ascertained. 

Passing  over  the  description  of  the  various  types,  we 
find  that  the  writer  of  the  article  in  question  acknowledges 
the  genuine  character  of  what  he  designates  as  type  I., 
but  doubts — in  fact,  almost  positively  denies — the  genuine- 
ness of  most  known  specimens  of  type  II  ,  which  he  says 
"differs  in  everything  from  type *L,  and  is  postmarked 
with  a  blue  circle,  and  dated  variously  February  to 
December;  i.e.,  before  and  after  the  black  obliteration 
used  in  March  on  the  known  genuine  type." 

In  regard  to  the  order  of  the  types,  I  have  ascertained 
that  the  Petersburg  stamp  was  not  issued  until  sometime 
in  the  latter  half  of  the  year  1861 ;  and  one  of  the  clerks 
then  employed  in  the  post-office  of  that  city  says  that  it 
was  used  uutil  the  Confederate  o  c.  stamp  of  De  la  Rue 
&  Co.  arrived,  say,  about  May,  1862,  the  first  issue  of  the 
Confederacy  apparently  never  having  been  supplied  to 
the  Petersburg  post-office.  The  blue  handstamp  must, 
therefor?,  have  been  used  from  September,  1861,  to 
February.  1862.  and  the  black  one  during  March  and 
April,  1862.  This  also  shows  that  "type  I."'  was  in 
reality  used  after  '•  type  II.'" 


But  now  comes  the  most  important  point.  Speaking 
of  type  II.,  The  Philatelical  Journal  says.  i4  The  five 
addressed  envelopes  are  all  to  a  certain  W.  C.  t'pchurch,  of 
Raleigh,  2sorth  Carolina  ;  those  postmarked  Feb.  7  and 
Oct.  20  are  similar  in  writing  and  envelope ;  the  next, 
dated  Dec.  26,  is  directed  in  a  bold  hand,  and  the  face  of 
the  envelope  bears  a  lithographic  grey  lesign  -Smyth, 
Stone,  &  Banks.  Grocers  and  Commission  Merchants, 
Petersburg,  Va."  The  other  two  are  dated  Oct.  22  and 
Not.  23,  respectively,  and  the  addresses  are  a  scrawl. 
Each  of  the  envelopes  bears  on  the  face  an  imprint  of  '  R. 
A.  Toung  k  Bro.,  Grocers  and  General  Commission  Mer- 
chants, 93,  Sycamore  Street,  Petersburg,  Ya.'  So  long 
as  we  fancied  these  letters  were  from  three  separate  per- 
sons, or  firms,  we  were  disposed  to  believe  in  the 
genuineness  of  every  one  of  the  stamps  ;  but,  on  a  very 
careful  examination  (not  alone  and  unaided  either}, 
we  unhesitatingly  pronounce  the  directions  to  have  been 
all  written  by  one  man ;  and  thus  we  are  enabled  to  ex- 
pose one  of  the  cleverest,  but  most  abominable,  swindles 
of  recent  days."' 

So  much  for  The  Philatelical  Journal.     I  also  happened 
to  come  across  one  of  the  envelopes  dated  Oct.  20,  bearing 
Messrs.  R.  A.  Toung  &  Bros.'  imprint  (and  addressed  to 
¥  .  C.  Epcharch),  and  entered  into  correspondence  with 
them  on  the  subject;  and  through  the  great  kindness  of  Mr. 
John  D.  Toung,  who  has  gone  to  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in 
the  matter.  I  have  ascertained  that  the  stamp  was  printed 
|   by  a  Mr.  Campbell ;  but,  owing  to  his  books  having  been 
\   burnt  during  the  war,  he  was  unable  to  give  the  full 
particulars  of  the  issue.     I  then  sent  the  envelope  in 
j   question  to  Mr.  Toung,  and  he  recognized  it  as  the  hand- 
writing of  the  now  senior  partner  of  Messrs.  Ralf  Bros. 
Mr.  Ralf  also  identified  it  as  his  own  handwriting.     I 
',   then  sent  him  another  specimen,  of  variety  -i  of  type  II., 
dated    Oct.    22,   on    an  ordinary  envelope,  and  a  bank 
official  in  Petersburg  recognized   the  superscription   as 
,   that  of  Mr.   «T.   M.   Patterson,   formerly  a  comm: 
,   merchant   of  that  city.     Mr.   Toung  informs   me   that 
.   before  and  during  the  entire  war,  his  tirmh.a.&  frequent 
correspondence   with  Mr    TV.  C.  Upchurch.  of  Raleigh, 
!N.  C.    I  may  also  add  that  bDth  the  stamps  on  the  above 
envelopes  were  submitted   to  Mr.   Campbell,   and   he  is 
quite  positive  that  they  are  of  his  workmanship.     They 
:    were  both  cancelled  with  the  blue  handstamp. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  above,  establishing,  as  it  does, 

I   the  existence  of  Mr.  Upchurch,  and  the  genuine  character 

I   of  the  superscriptions,  knocks  away  the  only  foundations 

!  on  which   the  article  in  question  bases  its  arguments, 

especially  as  The  Philatelical  Journal  acknowledges  that 

a  genuine  specimen  of  type  II.  does  exist  in  Mr.  Philbrick's 

collection,  but  supposes  that  all  the  other  specimens  of 

the  same  type  are  either  reprints  or  forgeries. 

I  therefore  think  that  I  can  safely  assure  collectors  that 

they  need  be  under  no  hesitation  in  admitting  types  I. 

and*    II.    (including    their    minor  varieties)    into   their 

\    albums.     I  know  nothing  about  type  III.,  not  having 

even  seen  it. 

The  only  point  in  the  above  article  that  can  be  open  to 
any  doubt  is  the  exact  date  of  issue.  Although  I  have 
i  every  reason  for  believing  that  the  dates  given  by  me  are 
|  correct,  I  shall  still  continue  to  investigate  this  point, 
and  should  anything  further  of  interest  come  to  light,  it 
shall  be  duly  communicated  through  the  columns  of  this 
magazine. 

I  notice  that  the  ''Pleasant  Shade"   stamp  is  also 
I    condemned.     There  can   be  no  possible  doubt  as  to  its 
genuine  character.     But  of  this  more  anon. 
Tours  trulv, 
Fork.  CHARLES  II.  COSTER. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


113 


PAPERS  FOR  BEGINNERS.— No.  XXI. 

RY   OVERY   TAYLOR. 

EUROPE. 

The  history  of  the  Danish  stamps  offers  an 
agreeable  contrast  on  the  score  of  clearness 
to  that  of  the  Moldo-Wallachian  issues. 
Here  all  is  comparatively  plain  sailing;  and 
there  will  not  exist  the  necessity  for  clearing 
up  obscure  points  to  tempt  me  to  that  forget- 
fulness  of  the  title  of  these  papers,  for  which 
I  have  been  not  unkindly  reproved. 

The  only  difficulty  I  find  is  a  chronological 
one,  and  it  is  not  of  great  importance.  The 
year  1851  is  everywhere  quoted  as  that  of 
the  issue  of  the  2  rigsbank  skg.  blue,  and 
the  4  "R.B.S."  brown  ;  and  Levrault  assigns 
the  1st  of  April  as  the  exact  date  of  issue  of 
the  former  ;  but  were  they  not  both  issued  on 
the  same  day  ?  The  general  notion  is  that 
the  2  sk.  was  issued  alone,  and  was  therefore 
the  first  Danish  stamp  ;  but  upon  what 
foundation  this  belief  rests,  I  know  not. 
The  2  skilling,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind, 
was  in  all  probability  intended  for  use 
within  the  capital  only  ;  and  though  it  has 
been  suggested  by  a  philatelist,  whose 
opinions  are  entitled  to  the  greatest  weight, 
that  a  local  stamp  might  be  issued  for 
experimental  purposes  before  the  emission 
of  a  series  for  the  entire  country,  I  cannot 
see  how  the  result  of  such  an  experiment 
could  serve  as  a  guide  in  preparing  an  issue 
for  general  purposes,  since  the  circulation  in 
the  capital  could  form  no  index  to  the 
requirements  of  the  provinces.  Moreover, 
if  the  2  sk.  had  been  launched  into  circulation 
as  a  trial,  it  would,  we  might  suppose,  have 
been  followed,  immediately  on  its  success 
being  demonstrated,  by  a  full  series ;  yet,  in 
fact,  its  only  companion  during  its  two 
years'  circulation  was  the  4  "  R.B.S.,"  issued, 
as  I  think,  simultaneously  with  it ;  and  when 
the  2  sk.  was  suppressed,  the  4  "R.B.S." 
went  with  it. 

However,  be  this  as  it  may,  the  2  sk.  is 
necessarily  classed,  apart,  because  it  has  a 
type  to  itself.  The  type,  like  that  of  most 
first  issues,  is  not  a  very  brilliant  one,  but  it 
is  fairly  engraved,  and  like  the  imperfect 
organizations  of  primeval  animals  (if  such  a 

VOL.  X.    Xo.  115. 


undulating 


. 


simile  may  be  allowed),  it  contains  the 
rudimentary  parts  of  subsequent  species. 
Thus  the  crown  which  appears  on  this  stamp 
is  repeated  in  every  successive  series,  and 
the  post-horn  finds  a  place  in  all  but  one. 
It  is  further  distinguished  by  the  crown 
watermark,  which  runs  through  all  the  is- 
sues. "  Once  upon  a  time  "  this  stamp  was 
tolerably  rare ;  but  now  a  used  copy  can  be 
procured  for  a  shilling,  and  an  unused  one 
at  double  that  price.  It  has  been  forged,  like 
almost  every  other  rarity,  but  has  not  been 
reprinted,  and  it  has  no  varieties  or  sub- types. 

The  4  rigsbank  skg.— or  "R.B.S.,"  as  it 
is  generally  called,  from  the  abbreviation  of 
the  value  which  figures  on  the  stamp  itself — 
is  exceedingly  common  ;  and,  to  judge  from 
the  fact  that  it  is  found  in  at  least  three  dis- 
tinct shades  of  brown,  it  must  have  been 
extensively  used.  The  attention  of  begin- 
ners may  be  drawn  to  the  fine 
diagonal  buff  lines  which  cross  the  paper 

The  "  rigsbank  skilling,"  which  formed 
the  denomination  of  value  of  the  first 
Danish  stamps,  was  part  of  an  old-fashioned 
currency,  of  which  the  "marc  banco"  was 
the  unit.  The  marc  contained  48:1-  rigsbank 
skilling,  and  was  worth  1/5J  of  our  money  ; 
hence,  the  first  2sk.  was  worth  three  farthings, 
and  the  4  sk.  three  halfpence.  The  modified 
adoption  of  the  decimal  system  led  to  the 
suppression  of  these  stamps,  and  the  issue  of 
others  whose  value  was  indicated  in  "skilling," 
of  which  a  hundred  went  to  form  the  rix- 
daler,  a  coin  equalling  2/3  English. 

The  second  series  is  composed  of  four 
stamps,  viz.,  the  2,  4,  8,  and  16  sk. ;  but  of 
these,  if  we  adhere  to  Levrault's  version,  only 
the  first  two  were  issued  in 
1853,  the  others  not  appearing 
until  1857.  This  is  a  state- 
ment I  have  no  means  of 
verifying,  and  which  I  should 
accept  only  under  reserve. 

The  design  is  a  faithful  copy 
of  that  of  the  4  "  R.B.S."  ;  indeed,  it  requires 
careful  comparison  to  demonstrate  that  the 
centre  is  not  formed  from  the  old  die.  The 
inscriptions  alone  are  changed,  or  rather 
abbreviated,  and  the  colours  of  the  first  two* 
and  four  skilling  are  roughly  reproduced  on 
their  successors.     The  crown  watermark  is 


114 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


also  repeated.  The  type  is  divisible  into  two 
sub-types :  No.  1  with  granulated  spandrels, 
No.  2  with  undulating  horizontal  lines  in 
spandrels.  The  No.  1  type  was  certainly  the 
first  to  appear,  and  it  has  its  representatives 
in  all  four  values,  whilst  No.  2  is  represented 
only  by  the  4  and  8  sk.  For  the  production 
of  sub- type  No.  2,  the  whole  design  was 
either  re-engraved  or  touched  up.  The  date 
of  issue  of  the  "  undulated  ground  "  stamps 
is  unknown.  Probably  it  took  place  at  a 
comparatively  late  period,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  fact  that  the  8  sk.  remained  in 
circulation  for  a  considerable  time  after  the 
other  values  were  superseded.  The  16  sk.  of 
the  first  sub-type,  and  the  4  and  8  sk.  of  the 
second,  exist  'pierced,  and  Levrault  catalogues 
a  2  sk.  pique  by  a  private  company.  This 
series  enjoys  the  exceptional  honour  of 
having  been  neither  reprinted  nor  forged, 
though  in  1856  a  Copenhagen  printer,  named 
Thiele,  inserted  an  advertisement  in  a  local 
directory,  consisting  of  a  lithographed  repre- 
sentation of  an  envelope  bearing  his  address, 
and  an  imitation  of  the  Danish  2  sk.  stamp 
in  the  corner,  the  postmarks  and  cancellations 
being  also  copied  ;  and  the  conceit  is  said  to 
have  answered. 

The  next  series — that  of  1864-5 — has 
but  recently  passed  out  of  circulation.  Its 
design  —  exceedingly  plain 
and  unpretending — is  well 
engraved,  and  is  relieved, 
to  some  extent,  by  Ihe 
'  £  delicacy  of  the  colours  in 
which  it  is  printed.  The 
increase  in  size,  as  compared 
with  that  of  its  predecessors, 
and  the  introduction  of  accurate  and  complete 
perforation,  distinguish  the  issue,  as  also  the 
addition  of  a  new  value — the  3  sk.  mauve. 
Each  value,  except  the  8  sk.,  possesses  at 
least  two  colour-varieties,  and  all  the  values 
have  the  crown  watermark. 

The  description  of  the 
present  series  is  almost  su- 
pererogatory. That  it  is  a 
handsome  series  is  allowed 
on  all  hands,  and  with  rea- 
son. Its  present  members 
are  the  following-: — 


2  sk.   blue   centre 

3  ,,     violet      „ 


16 

48 


carmine 
brown 
green 
mauve 


f  greenish  grey  frame. 


bistre  frame. 


OFFICIAL    STAMPS. 


The  "  service "  stamps,  like  their  com- 
panion cards,  are  of  too  recent  origin  to 
require  lengthened  notice. 
The  design  which  adorns 
them  is  of  a  somewhat  more 
complex  character  than  that 
of  the  adhesives  for  public 
use,  but  the  conception  is 
certainly  a  successful  one, 
and  the  trio  of  stamps 
— the  2,  4,  and  16  sk. — forms  an  enliven- 
ing addition  to  the  Danish  page,  which,  com- 
mencing with  a  few  commonplace  labels, 
bids  fair  to  become  one  of  the  brightest  in 
our  albums.  I  presume  these  stamps  are 
really  employed  for  statistical  purposes,  as 
the  readiest  means  of  checking  the  weight 
and  extent  of  official  correspondence.  That 
they  are  really  postage  stamps  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  s&y,  but  I  hope  to  discuss  this 
question  under  a  separate  heading. 

ENVELOPES. 

The  two  envelopes  issued  in  1865— the 
2  sk.  blue,  and  4  sk.  bright  red — continue  to 
do  duty.  Two  varieties  of  each  value  exist, 
those  with  and  those  with- 
out an  s  after  the  figure 
of  value.  The  envelopes 
were  first  issued  with  the 
s,  then  without ;  and  since 
then  have  again  appeared 
with  the  s.  Of  the  4  sk 
without  s,  three 
varieties,  distinguished  by 
the  shape  of  the  numeral,  have  been  dis- 
covered, and  thus  we  have  broad  figure, 
thick  figure,  and  thin  figure;  but  the  utility 
of  collecting  all  three  is  questionable. 

POST    CARDS. 

These  are  of  two  classes.     There  are  the 
post  cards  for  general  use,  and  the  official 


trifling: 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


115 


post  cards.  The  values  are  the  same  for 
each — viz.,  2  and  4  sk. — and  are  indicated  by 
means  of  impressions  in  one  colour,  from  the 
dies  of  the  adhesives.  The  cards  for  the 
public  are  inscribed  brev-kort,  and  those  for 
official  use  tjeneste-brevkort.  The  unofficial 
cards  show  the  Danish  arms  in  the  left  upper 
corner,  encircled  with  the  badge  of  the 
order  of  the  elephant. 

LOCAL    STAMP. 

The  only  known  local  stamp  is  that  of 
Holte,  a  town  about  six  miles  from  Copen- 
hagen, of  which  the  engraving  is  here 
reproduced.  It  is  said  to 
have  been  issued  about  the 
year  1868,  by  the  local 
authorities  of  the  town  of 
Holte,  in  order  to  cover  the 
cost  of  collection  or  delivery 
by  the  rural  letter-carriers 
of  the  district.  Why  Holte, 
above  all  other  towns,  should  possess  a  stamp, 
is  a  question  which  remains  to  be  answered.  If 
"  Landpost "  stamps  are  required  at  all,  why 
does  not  the  government  issue  a  series  for 
the  entire  country  ?  Or  is  the  Holte  label 
an  authorised  experiment  ?  If  so,  it  has 
lasted  a  long  while.  It  was  not  known  to 
collectors  until  the  end  of  1870,  when  M. 
Moens  unearthed  it,  and  obtained  information 
direct  from  Holte  as  to  its  employment.  It 
appears  it  is  put  on  the  letters  for  the  district 
by  the  rural  carriers,  who  first  punch  a  hole 
through  the  stamp,  in  order  to  obliterate  it ; 
they  also  put  it  on  the  letters  which  they 
collect  in  the  district  for  the  town,  and  then 
the  town  officials  obliterate  it  with  the 
ordinary  handstamp.  The  value  of  the 
stamp  is  2  sk.,  and  the  impression  is  in  red- 
brown  on  white.  Besides  the  Holte  stamp, 
there  are  two  series  of  railway  stamps,  not 
certainly  of  more  interest  than  those  of  our 
own  country,  and  quite  out  of  place  in  a 
postage  stamp  album. 

ESSAYS. 

The  most  noted  essays  are  two  very  old 
ones,  of  which  acknowledged  counterfeits 
were  on  sale  ten  years  ago,  and  made  high 
prices.     Engravings    of    the    forgeries    are 


annexed.  The  genuine  essays  are  of  great 
rarity,  and  it  is  generally  admitted  that  they 
were   really   submitted    to   the  government 

1 


during  the  currency  of  the  "  R.B.S."  stamps. 
In  any  case,  but  very  few  copies  were 
printed  ;  I  have  seen  it  stated,  not  more  than 
half-a-dozen.  The  portrait  is  that  of  the 
king,  who  died  in  1864.  The  genuine  copies 
of  the  Mercury  essay  are  distinguished  by 
the  projection  of  the  top  of  the  hinder  wing 
above  the  nearer  one,  along  the  whole  length, 
whilst  the  genuine  specimens  of  the  king's- 
head  essay  have  the  beard  differently  shaped. 
The  counterfeits,  which  were  very  finely 
printed,  and  came,  if  I  mistake  not,  from 
the  engravers  of  the  originals,  had  a  long 
run,  and  may  still  be  met  with  ;  and  a  second 
edition  was  published  a  few  years  back,  with 
the  value  omitted.  Copies  of  this  latter  are 
priced  at  2|d.  in  a  catalogue  I  have  before 
me. 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  current  typo; 
no  less  than  seven  other  designs  of  the  same 
class  were  submitted  to  the  administration. 
They  were  duly  noticed  in  The  Stamp-* 
Collector's  Magazine  for  1870  (p.  138),  to 
which  I  beg  to  refer  my  readers. 

OUR   CONTEMPORARIES. 

The  American  Journal  of  Philately  is  an- 
nounced as  being  under  the  editorship  of 
Mr.  Alfred  Turner; — a  gentleman  whose 
name  is  totally  unknown  to  us,  and  whom 
we  are  tempted  to  believe  is  as  intangible  a 
creation  as  Sairey  Camp's  friend,  "  which 
her  name  was  Harris."  or  the  founders  of 
the  mythical  New  York  philatelic  society, — 
Dr.  Morley,  Professor  Bunger,  Baron  Mun- 
chausen, &c.  Be  this  as  it  may,  no  change  in 
the  style  of  our  American  contemporary 
evidences  the  presence  of  Mr.  Alfred  Turner 
in  the  editorial  chair,  and  we  are  inclined  to 
award  to  Mr.  J.  W.  Scott  all  the  credit  due 
for  the  readable  matter  in  the  May  number. 


116 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


The  "History  of  the  Confederate  States  Post- 
Office "  touches,  in  this  number,  on  the 
Baton  Rouge  and  New  Orleans.  With 
regard  to  the  former,  it.  appears  that  its 
issuer — Mr.  McCormick — has  himself  been 
duped  by  the  counterfeits,  as  he  sent  two  to 
Mr.  Scott,  in  reply  to  the  latter's  inquiry  for 
information.  Respecting  the  New  Orleans 
stamps,  the  following  item  of  intelligence 
may  possess  some  interest,  as  a  specimen  of 
Yankee  "smartness." 

The  stamps  issued  by  Mr.  Riddell  were  amongst  the 
earliest  of  the  provisionals  known  to  philatelists,  and  were 
reprinted  for  collectors  soon  after  the  city  was  occupied  by 
the  federal  forces.  Soon  after  the  surrender,  a  Xew  York 
dealer  applied  to  Mr.  Riddell  for  a  quantity  of  his  stamps, 
but  he  refused  to  sell  them  under  their  face  value,  which 
the  party  did  not  feel  inclined  to  give,  as  he  wanted  a 
large  quantity.  Finding  he  could  not  obtain  the  desired 
stamps  at  his  own  price  of  Mr.  lliddell,  he  resorted  to 
other  means  to  obtain  his  object ;  and  it  is  but  doing  him 
justice  to  say  that,  being  a  strong  Union  man,  he  did  not 
believe  tbat  the  stamps  really  belonged  to  Mr.  Riddell,  as 
it  was  in  his  opinion  an  act  of  treason  to  issue  them.  He 
dispatched  an  agent  to  Xew  Orleans,  who  found  out  the 
printer,  and  learnt  thai  he  had  the  plates  in  his  possession, 
and  induced  him  to  reprint  a  supply  of  the  red  and  blue 
2  cents,  and  brown  5  cents;  but  by  some  oversight  he  neg- 
lected to  reprint  the  5  cents  on  blue  paper.  The  stock 
of  the  2  cents  stamps  has  been  exhausted  for  some  time, 
and  but  few  of  the  5  are  left.  I  have  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  plates  were  afterwards  destroyed. 

The  number  closes  with  the  transcript  of 
the  prospectus  of  the  New  York  City  Dis- 
patch Post,  which  was  the  successor  of  the 
United  States  City  Dispatch  Post.  We  leave 
our  esteemed  contributor,  Mr.  W.  D.  Atlee, 
to  give  it  such  attention  as  he  may  deem  it 
worthy  of  receiving. 

The  June  number  is  about  up  to  the  usual 
standard  of  the  A.  J.  P.  It  contains  another 
instalment  of  Mr.  Scott's  papers  on  "United 
States  Local  Stamps,"  descriptions  of  ano- 
ther brace  of  recently-discovered  Confede- 
rates, a  short  paragraph  on  "  Shanghai," 
"  Newly -issued  Stamps,"  a  reprint  from  the 
Post-office  Gazette,  and  a  list  of  "California 
Revenue  Stamps."  The  Confederate  labels 
hail  from  North  Carolina,  and  are  both  ex- 
ceedingly plain.  The  Salem  stamp,  im- 
pressed in  black,  on  the  right  upper  corner 
of  a  buff  envelope,  consists  of  a  circle, 
with  the  words  POST  OFFICE,  salem,  n.c,  run- 
ning round,\and  0.  A.  keehln,  p.m.,  crossing 
it ;  above  the  postmaster's  name  are  written 
"  Paid  5."  The  Statesville  is  a  simple  trans- 
verse oblong,  with  patd  in  one  line,  and  "  -r>  " 


below ;  the  A  in  paid  being  represented  by 
an  inverted  v.  This  valuable  design  was 
struck  in  blue  or  black  on  envelopes  brought 
to  the  post-offices  by  persons  who  required 
them  to  be  franked. 

In  the  short  reference  to  the  Shanghai 
stamps,  Mr.  Scott  does  good  service  in  no- 
ticing the  fact,  that  to  meet  the  demand  for 
specimens  of  the  first  issue,  new  dies  have 
been  made  at  Shanghai,  from  which  worth- 
less impressions  by  the  thousand  are  being 
printed  off,  and  probably  not  a  few  of  the 
errors  recently  noticed  occur  in  these 
spurious  copies.  After  these  observations  it 
is  only  a  matter  of  common  justice  to  Messrs. 
Stafford  Smith  &  Co.  to  say  that  the  Shang- 
hai stamps  now  offered  by  them  are  really 
what  they  are  advertised  to  be,  namely,  "rare 
old  originals,  which  formed  part  of  the  stock 
on  sale  at  the  Shanghai  post-office,  during 
the  year  1865."  The  "remainder"  of  that 
stock  was  sent  over  by  the  Municipal  Council 
of  Shanghai  to  Messrs.  Nissen  and  Parker, 
the  engravers  of  the  succeeding  issues,  with 
instructions  to  offer  thern  to  dealers  at  face 
value,  and  after  lying  in  their  office  for  several 
years,  they  have  at  length  been  acquired  by 
the  well-known  Brighton  firm.  We  are  averse 
to  anything  approaching  an  advertisement  of 
any  dealer's  wares  ;  but  the  announcement  of 
the  fabrication  of  new  dies  at  Shanghai,  if 
allowed  to  go  forth  without  the  above  expla- 
nation, would  be  calculated  to  do  Messrs. 
Stafford  Smith  &  Co.  most  serious  and  un- 
justifiable injury  ;  and  we  have  no  doubt  Mr. 
Scott  will  himself  see  the  propriety  of  doing 
justice  to  a  firm  of  unblemished  integrity. 

In  the  review  of  a  forthcoming  work,  bear- 
ing the  strange  title  of  the  "  Common  Sense 
Postage  Stamp  Album,"  and  forming  a  new 
edition  of  Messrs.  Scott's  American  album 
— of  which,  notwithstanding  its  alleged  "  cos- 
mopolitan circulation,"  we  have  never  yet 
had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  with  acopy, — we 
find  some  rather  strange  observations.  The 
album  itself  is  said  to  be  compiled  on  the 
plan  of  "  totally  ignoring  pretended  dis- 
tinctions between  different  printings  of  the 
same  stamp,"  whatever  that  may  mean. 
Perhaps  the  Birmingham  publishers  can  ex- 
plain, and  stamp  with  their  approval,  this 
curious  expression.     Further  on  we  find  it 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


117 


stated  that  for  "  the  local  stamps  of  Ham- 
burg, Russia,  and  the  United  States,  pages 
have  been  left,  with  simply  a  heading,  as  but 
few  amateurs  collect  locals."  This  comes  in 
strange  contradiction  of  a  statement  made  in 
another  part  of  this  same  number,  where,  in 
reply  to  a  correspondent,  the  editor  says — 
"  Locals  are  collected  by  most  amateurs ;  in 
our  opinion  they  are  more  interesting  than 
government  issues."  ISTo  places  are  left  for 
post  cards,  we  are  told  in  one  line,  because 
they  would  "  occupy  more  space  than  the  in- 
terest taken  in  them  by  most  collectors 
would  warrant;  "  and  yet,  in  the  next  line, 
it  is  stated  that  "  many  post  cards  have  in- 
teresting inscriptions;"  and,  further  down, 
that  "  collectors  will  find  post  cards  more 
interesting  if  kept  so  that  both  sides  may  be 
examined."  It  is  new  to  us  that  interest 
is  not  generally  felt  in  post  cards,  and  the 
contrary  would  seem  to  be  the  opinion  of  the 
editor  of  the  American  Journal  of  Philately, 
for,  in  his  article  on  "  New  Issues  "  he  finds 
space  for  a  really  admirable  coloured  illus- 
tration of  the  new  Cingalese  card.  The 
album,  we  are  informed,  is  not  published  to 
"  carry  out  any  of  the  author's  whims  ;  "  but 
the  whims  to  which  the  author  thus  im- 
pliedly confesses  seem  to  have  been  amply 
indulged  in  in  the  exclusion  of  "  differences 
in  printing"  and  post  cards.  Perhaps  the 
wrork  will  prove  more  worthy  of  praise  than 
are  its  author's  explanations  of  its  purport, 
and,  if  so,  we  shall  be  happy  to  recommend 
it. 

The  July  number  possesses  very  little 
matter  of  general  interest.  The  first  five 
pages  are  occupied  with  reduced  fac-similes 
of  pages  of  the  most  popular  ruled  albums, 
intended  to  serve  as  a  guide  to  intending 
purchasers.  These  five  pages  should  have 
been  issued  in  the  form  of  an  advertising 
supplement.  Following  the  diagrams  comes 
an  introductory  article  on  "United  States 
Newspaper  Stamps,"  which  it  appears  have 
hitherto  been  neglected.  A  description  of 
the  government  emission,  consisting  of  the 
three  very  large  stamps — 5  c.  head  of  Wash- 
ington, 10  c.  head  of  Franklin,  and  25  c.  red 
— is  given,  accompanied  with  a  well-executed 
engraving  of  the  five  cents ;  and  here  we 
think   the   reference    to   newspaper  stamps 


should  stop.  We  have  had  enough  of  them 
in  this  country.  The  conveyance  of  a  parcel 
of  newspapers  by  rail  is  only  a  postal  opera- 
tion when  it  is  performed  by  a  post-office, 
and  hardly  so  then ;  but  when  it  is  under- 
taken by  a  private  railway  or  express  com- 
pany it  becomes  a  simple  transport  transac- 
tion, of  the  same  character  as  the  conveyance 
of  a  box  of  books.  Perhaps  the  best  proof 
that  the  carriage  of  packages  of  newspapers 
is  not  fairly  within  the  scope  of  post-office 
business,  is  the  fact  related  by  our  contem- 
porary, that  the  American  post-office  depart- 
ment could  not  compete  for  the  traffic  with 
the  private  companies  previously  in  exist- 
ence. "The  cause  of  the  government's  failure 
to  obtain  the  carriage  of  newspapers  in  large 
quantities  was,  that  all  papers  carried  by  the 
department  had  to  be  delivered  from  the 
post-office,  whereas  the  express  companies 
delivered  the  papers  they  carried  direct  from 
the  train  immediately  on  its  arrival,  so  news- 
dealers were  served  by  them  at  least  half-an- 
hour  earlier  than  they  could  obtain  them 
from  the  post-office." 

A  feeling  of  modesty  prevents  our  review- 
ing the  "  Clippings  "  with  which  the  Ameri- 
can Journal  of  'Philately  concludes  its  July 
number,  for  they  are  exclusively  composed  of 
our  own  "  Occasional  Notes  "  bodily  extracted. 
Our  name  is  appended  to  the  last  paragraph 
of  the  reprint  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make 
it  appear  that  only  the  last  paragraph  is 
borrowed  from  The  Stamp-Collector's  Maga- 
zine ;  and  this  our  contemporary  must  allow 
us  to  say,  once  for  all,  we  do  not  consider  to 
be  a  really  straightforward  mode  of  acknow- 
ledgment. We  do  not  expect  The  American 
Journal  of  Philately  to  be  composed  solely  of 
original  matter,  nor  do  we  object  to  our 
columns  furnishing  employment  for  our 
contemporary's  editorial  scissors ;  but  its 
world-wide  reputation  would  not  suffer  by 
the  frank  admission  of  its  occasional  in- 
debtedness to  a  confrere. 

The  Philatelical  Journal. — The  June  num- 
ber of  this  magazine  opens  with  an  instructive 
article  on  the  editor's  projected  catalogue, 
which  promises  to  be  of  a  very  valuable 
character.  It  will  contain  both  milk  for 
the  philatelic  babe,  and  meat  for  the  mature 
collector.      The   arrangement   is    about   the 


118 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


best  which  could  have  been  hit  on  for  the 
successive  development  of  types,  species, 
and  varieties.  The  catalogue  will  be  of 
immediate  use,  both  to  disciples  of  the 
advanced  and  intermediate  schools,  but  we 
doubt  whether,  malgre  the  excellence  of  its 
plan,  it  will  be  at  once  accepted  by  the 
advocates  of  the  pure  and  simple  style  of 
collecting.  Its  learned  appearance  will 
frighten  them  ;  but  the  editor  of  a  work  like 
this  proposed  catalogue — which  will  form  a 
very  encyclopaedia  of  philatelic  information — 
can  well  be  content  to  wait  for  general 
popularity,  until  the  value  of  accuracy  in 
observation  and  collection  becomes  more 
widely  appreciated.  Such  a  work  will 
probably  make  its  way  comparatively  slowly 
at  first,  but  will  gradually  come  to  be 
regarded  as  an  indispensable  portion  of  every 
philatelist's  library.  That  its  compilation  has 
been,  and  is,  a  work  demanding  much  time 
and  patience,  no  one,  after  examining  the 
specimen-countries  quoted,  can  doubt ;  but 
it  has  also  been  a  labour  of  love  to  its  author, 
to  whose  name  it  will  give  an  enduring  and 
honourable  notoriety. 

"  Bogus  Novelties  "  contains  a  notice  of  the 
recently-floated  forgeries  of  the  Brazilian 
envelopes,  which  are  most  easily  distinguish- 
able from  the  fact  that  they  are  on  horizontally 
laid  paper,  whilst  the  lines  of  the  vergeure  of 
the  genuine  run  obliquely.  The  illustrations 
to  the  article  on  newly-issued  stamps  are 
numerous  and  well-executed,  but  why  en- 
gravings of  all  four  values  of  the  new 
Sierra  Leone  should  be  given  we  cannot 
understand,  seeing  that  the  design  is  precisely 
the  same  for  all.  "  The  California  Penny 
Post  Company  "  is  an  analytical  article  of 
the  authenticated  and  unauthenticated  issues 
of  the  company  in  question,  of  which  we 
refrain  from  giving  any  account  at  present, 
as  the  writer  will,  we  presume,  treat  the 
subject  fully  in  one  of  the  forthcoming 
instalments  of  the  monograph  he  is  writing 
for  these  pages,  under  the  title  of  "  Notes 
on  Californian  Locals."  "  A  Parisian  Col- 
lector"  continues  his  very  interesting  paper 
on  "The  Turkish  Stamps,"  which  is  full  of 
pleasantly  rendered  facts.  "  Surcharged 
Mexican  Stamps  "  is  the  second  portion  of 
an  article  already  commented  on.     This  is 


followed  by  an  obituary  notice  of  an  old  and 
energetic  amateur,  and  member  of  the 
Philatelic  Society, — the  late  J.  Wilkinson 
Chapman,  Esq..  of  The  Green,  Stratford, 
Essex, — and  the  number  closes  with  the 
usual  "  Correspondence  "  and  "  Answers  to 
Correspondents." 

The  July  number  has  reached  us  too  late 
to  permit  of  our  giving  a  detailed  notice  of 
its  contents,  and  we  beg  to  remind  our  confrere 
that  if  he  thus  delays  publication,  he  will 
lose  the  advantage  of  precedence  in  the 
announcement  of  current  novelties. 

Le  Tlmbre-Poste. — The  Chronique  occupies 
six-and-a-half  pages  out  of  the  eight  of  which 
the  number  is  composed.  It  contains  much 
interesting  matter,  on  which  we  have  largely 
drawn  in  our  own  article  on  novelties,  and 
we  reprint  M.  Moens'  list  of  the  Goa  stamps 
for  reference.  Our  contemporary  announces 
a  fresh  reprint  of  the  old  Finnish  stamps, 
from  the  dies  which  served  for  the  1862 
reprints,  and  he  distinguishes  the  following 
differences  between  the  two  impressions  : — 

Reprints  of  1862.  1872. 

1845,  10  kop.  pale  rose  bright  carmine. 

,,      20    „  greenish  grey-black 

1850,    5    ,,  pale  blue 

]  0     „  pale  rose 

20     „  grey-black 

A  correspondent,  writing  on  the  envelopes 
of  the  Emperor  William's  Association  for 
invalid  Germans,  says  they  are  of  two  kinds  ; 
one  issued  by  the  Central  Committee,  in- 
scribed, ANGELEGENHEIT  DER  KAISER  WILHELMS- 
STIFTUNG  FUR  DEUTSCHEN  INVAL1EEN  ;  the  other, 

issued  by  the  Berlin  Committee,  bearing  the 
legend,  angelegenheit  des  Berliner  vereins 

DER   KAISER-WILHELMS-STIFTUNG  FUR  DEUTSCHES 

invalid  en.  The  official  correspondence  of 
both  committees  within  the  capital  is  carried 
at  the  reduced  rate  of  J  gr.,  consequently 
each  of  the  above  envelopes  bears  on  its 
right  upper  corner  an  impressed  ^  gr.  stamp, 
similar  in  design  to  the  imperial  adhesive  of 
the  same  value. 

The  number  concludes  with  the  disclosure 
of  a  remarkable  discovery — to  which  allusion 
will  be  made  in  our  next  number — and  an 
article  on  the  1|:  schg.  envelope  of  Hamburg, 
which,  issued  in  1867,  and  suppressed  in 
18G8,  is  now  by  no  means  common.  It  has 
been  reprinted  at  Hamburg,  and  the  reorint 


intense  black, 
ultramarine, 
bright  carmine, 
intense  black. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


119 


is  distinguishable  by  the  comparative  coarse- 
ness of  the  impression,  by  the  shape  of  the 
envelope,  of  which  the  side  flaps  are  curved 
round  from  the  top,  and  by  certain  differ- 
ences in  the  small  inscriptions ;  thus,  the 
words  post  convert  are  united  in  the  reprint 
by  a  dot,  instead  of  by  a  line  ;  furthermore, 
the  paper  is  of  a  bluish  tint,  whilst  the  official 
envelope  is  of  a  yellowish  paper. 

The  Stamp- Collector's  Journal  appears  to  be 
making  fair  progress.  The  April  and  May 
numbers  contain  a  fair  share  of  readable 
matter.  In  the  April  number  occurs  the  sen- 
sible suggestion  that  the  5  c.  Tolima,  lately 
described,  may  be  the  initial  stamp  of  a 
third  series  for  that  state,  whilst  the  10  c. 
and  50  c.  and  1  peso  belong  to  a  second 
series,  of  which  the  5  c.  has  yet  to 
be  discovered.  "  The  Stamps  of  the  South 
African  Republic  "  is  the  title  of  a  careful 
analysis  of  the  Transvaal  issues.  The  ad- 
hesives  are  divided  into  two  types  :  I.  The 
scarecrow  eagle  (answering  to  the  owl-eagle 
of  The  Philatelist)  ;  ribbon  narrow.  II.  Eagle 
wxll  drawn  ;  ribbon  wide.  All  the  values  are 
found  in  the  former  type,  whilst  the  latter  is 
represented  only  by  the  threepence.  The  first- 
type  is  subdivided  into  German  printed  and 
native  printed ;  the  second  is  composed  of 
German  printed  only.  Imperforate  and  rou- 
letted  editions  of  both  types  have  appeared. 
The  test  of  German  origin,  according  to  this 
writer,  is  the  paper,  which  should  be  thin 
wove,  and  slightly  surfaced ;  whilst  the  na- 
tive impressions  are  on  thick,  coarse,  un- 
surfaced  wove.  On  this  question,  however, 
he  is  at  issue  with  the  editor  of  The  Phi- 
latelist, who  says  he  has  received  many 
sheets  of  native-printed  red  stamps,  on  thin 
paper.  But  that  he  should  have  received 
them  from  the  republic  is  not  in  itself  an 
answer ;  we  must  carry  our  examination  as 
far  as  the  gum.  "  It  would  be  strange," 
says  the  paper  under  notice,  "  if  the  natives 
could  make  and  perfectly  apply  white  gum, 
so  long  as  the  thin  paper  lasted,  and  at  same 
time  print  well  from  the  wood-blocks ; 
w7hereas,  on  the  necessity  for  falling  back  on 
native  paper  occurring,  the  gum  at  once  be- 
came brown  and  coarsely  applied,  and  the 
impressions  of  every  conceivable  variety  of 
blur.     As  far  as  we  are  aware  no  copy  exists 


on  the  thin  paper  badly  printed  and  coarsely 
gummed."  The  editor  of  The  Philatelist 
partially  traverses  this  statement  by  asserting 
that  he  has  received  native-printed  specimens 
— or,  in  other  words,  specimens  so  badly  exe- 
cuted as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  their  origin — on 
thin  paper  well  gummed.  The  argument  of 
The  Stamp- Collector's  Journal  falls  through. 
It  is  evident  that  the  unofficial  rumour  of  the 
exportation  of  thin  paper  to  the  republic,  to 
which  it  elsewhere  alludes,  is  well  founded, 
and  that  the  thickness  of  the  paper  is  not  an 
all-sufficing  test.  The  comparative  excellence 
of  the  impression  is  the  only  sure  test,  and 
the  texture  of  paper  and  quality  of  gum 
become  mere  subordinate  characteristics. 

With  regard  to  the  envelopes,  our  own 
belief  for  a  considerable  time  was  that  they 
should  be  regarded  rather  as  a  fanciful 
exercise  of  the  directorial  function  of  issuing 
stamps,  than  as  an  emission  seriously 
intended  for  the  use,  and  placed  at  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Transvaalites.  We  have,  how- 
ever, received  assurances  from  the  most 
trustworthy  quarter,  that  so  far  from  their 
having  been  prepared  for  collectors,  they 
were  got  up  solely  to  meet  local  wants,  and 
that  the  differences  in  the  shape  and  colour 
arise  from  the  simple  fact  that  no  envelopes 
of  uniform  size  and  colour  could  be  obtained 
at  the  time  when  they  were  issued.  This 
sets  our  doubts  at  rest  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  issue ;  but  then  it  is  worth  while  con- 
sidering whether  all  the  different  varieties 
are,  under  the  circumstances,  worth  collect- 
ing. The  series  is  issued— or,  to  use  the 
French  word,  created — from  the  office  hand- 
stamp,  and  an  odd  lot  of  envelopes  ;  such 
being  the  case,  varieties  become  the  rule, 
exactly  as  they  do  on  a  sheet  of  stamps,  every- 
one of  which  is  from  a  separately  engraved 
die.  A  single  envelope  may  be  considered 
to  exemplify  the  whole  emission,  and  no 
serious  purpose  can  be  served  by  noticing 
all  the  trifling  variations,  which  necessarily 
occur  in  such  an  irregularly  constituted 
series.  It  is  now  superseded  by  a  uniform 
impression  from  the  die  of  the  sixpence 
adhesive,  and  at  some  future  date,  if  the 
republic  escapes  annexation,  it  will  not  im- 
probably possess  a  set  of  envelopes  rivalling 
in  Oneness  thoseof  morehighlycivilised  states. 


120 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


In  the  May  number  of  The  Stamp-Collector's 
Journal  some  pretty  good  Oldenburg  forgeries 
are  carefully  described,  and  we  may  as  well 
repeat  their  most  prominent  characteristics. 

First  issue.  The  ribbon  beyond  the  full  stop,  in  the 
right  hand  corner,  is  shaded. 

Second  issue.  (Black  imp).  All  the  forgeries  are  from 
one  matrix,  and  oldexbi/kg  is  much  nearer  the  lower 
than  the  upper  edge  of  the  ribbon,  instead  of  being  equi- 
distant, as  in  the  original. 

Thud  issue.     Col.  imp. 

(«).  Ground  of  oval,  white.  These  are  from  the 
same  matrix  as  the  forgeries  of  the  second  issue,  and  the 
genuine  are  from  the  same  matrices  as  the  genuine  of  the 
second  issue  ;  therefore,  the  same  differences  exist  as  are 
noted  above.  The  forged  3  s.gr.  is  at  once  detected  by  its 
having  the  ground  of  the  oval  coloured  ;  in  all  the 
genuine  ones  the  ground  is  white. 

{b).  Ground  of  oval  coloured.  The  forged  \  gr.  has 
the  right  hand  end  of  lower  ribbon  distinctly  indented, 
whilst  in  the  original  it  is  but  very  slightly  so ;  and  the 
right  hand  circle,  containing  numeral  of  value,  is  sepa- 
rated alike  from  oval  and  from  inner  line  of  frame  by  a 
thick  line  of  colour.  In  the  original  this  circle  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  oval  only,  and  that  by  a  very  fine  line. 
In  the  forged  \  °r.  the  inside  of  crown  is  not  shown, 
whilst  in  the  genuine  it  is  seen  resting  on  top  of  shield, 
and  shaded  by  fine  vertical  lines. 

The  contents  of  the  June  number  are  far 
from  being  of  equal  interest  with  those  of 
May,  and,  in  fact,  do  not  call  for  any  detailed 
criticism.  The  paper  on  "The  Stamps  of 
Greece "  is  \evy  incomplete.  The  article 
on  "  Forgeries "  contains  descriptions  of 
some  very  good  counterfeits  of  the  Bra- 
zilian envelopes,  which  we  notice  elsewhere. 

The  July  number  is  not  to  hand.  We 
should  regret  to  find  the  appearance  of  pro- 
gress noticed  in  reference  to  the  May  and 
June  numbers  (which  part  of  our  review  has 
been  in  type  more  than  a  month)  falsified 
by  the  premature  decease  of  the  paper. 

NEWLY-ISSUED    OR   INEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Russian  Locals. — Elizavetgrad  (Cherson). — 
The  design  here  represented,  and  described 
in  July  of  last  }7ear,  was 
first  issued  printed  in 
mauve ;  it  now  comes 
over  green.  It  shows  a 
quaint  mixture  of  symbols 
and  ornaments,  and  a  key 
to  the  meaning  of  the 
former  is  much  to  be 
desired.  In  the  middle  of 
the   ring,   which   occupies   the  centre  of  the 


stamp,  we  find  a  shield  bearing  an  eagle  in  its 
upper,  and  a  star  in  its  lower  half;  below  the 
ring  is  a  book,  and  on  either  side  of  the  arch- 
way are  a  scythe,  blade  of  wheat,  and  quill 
pen.  Our  Belgian  contemporary  begs  its 
readers  not  to  confound  this  stamp  with  a  de- 
sign for  a  clock-face. 

Rjuff  (Tver). — The  changes  which  are  con- 
stantly taking  place  in  the  designs  and  values 
of    the    locals    contrasts 

ESBOEEdl  strangely  with  the  ap- 
l  -_„_  m  parently  unalterable  type 
of  the  imperial  office. 
Thus  the  Tver  stamp,  de- 
scribed at  the  beginning 
of  the  year,  is  already 
withdrawn  in  favour  of 
the  above  design,  which 
differs  from  its  prede- 
cessor principally  from  the  fact  that  the  in- 
scriptions are  white  on  black,  instead  of  being 
black  on  white,  and  the  rampant  poodle  of  the 
Tver  district  is  better  drawn.  The  impres- 
sion is  on  white  paper ;  the  frame  and  device 
are  in  black,  and  the  ground  of  the  rect- 
angular disc  is  red. 

Tschongonief  (Charkoff). — M.  Moens  an- 
nounces that  stamps  exist  for  this  district, 
of  which  his  correspondent  promises  to  send 
specimens  shortly. 

Bogorodsh. — In  a  recent  number  Le  Timbre- 
Posle  queried  the  existence  of  the  10  kop. 
adhesive  red,  announced  in  our  now  well- 
known  list.  We  are  glad  to  be  able  to 
inform  our  contemporary  we  have  just 
received  a  specimen  from  Russia.  The 
design  is  of  the  first  type,  the  colour  scarlet. 
The  1  kop.  of  the  first  type  will,  no  doubt, 
also  turn  up  shortly.  The  10  kop.  envelope, 
blue,  of  which  we  have  a  copy,  measures 
1\  by  5  in.  (19  by  13  centimetres.) 

Kolomna. — We  possess  a  blue  5  kop.  per- 
forated, and  identical  in  design  with  the 
5  kop  red. 

BronnitzL — We  have  just  received  an 
envelope  bearing  an  impression  from  the  die 
of  the  5  kop.  adhesive  on  the  flap,  printed  a 
dull  deep  blue. 

France. — The  engraved  two  centimes 
stamp,  lately  announced,  has  been  followed 
by  two  more  values  of  the  same  type,  the 
4  centimes  lavender  and  5  centimes  bright 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


121 


ln^/-_n_n_n_n_--_ 


green.  This  latter  value  has  hitherto  borne 
the  same  device  as  its  higher  priced  confreres  ; 
it  is  now  relegated  to  the  ranks  of  the  news- 
paper stamps,  unless,  indeed,  there  should 
turn  out  to  be  but  one  device  for  high  and 
low  values  alike.  The  introduction  of  these 
new  comers  is  effected  very  gradually,  the 
two-centime  is  now  in  pretty  general  use, 
but  the  4  c,  though  badly  wanted,  is  as  yet 
but  rarely  seen. 

Holland. — The    philatelic    event    of   the 
past  month  has  been  the  issue  of  a  high- 
value  stamp  for  the  Netherlands,   and  the 
publication  of  the  type  of 

(\TLrvr-u-vr-vri7-u-vr-u-i_r\ru        J,  „         .  .  J  L    . 

b  m§i=m  ^fll  5  ™e  forthcoming  series. 
!>  llllliiMlsiliii  S  We  annex  engravings  of 
both.  The  execution  we 
are  able  to  state,  on  the 
authority  of  a  practised 
writer,  who  never  errs  on 
the  side  of  overpraise, 
is  perfect,  and  our  illus- 
tration will  convince  our 
readers  that  the  laudation  is  not  unmerited. 
The  profile  of  the  king  is  engraved  from  the 
portrait  painted  by  H.  F.  Okentate,  to  whom 
his  majesty  sat,  and  it  is  said  to  be  very  like 
him.  The  new  value  is  2  gulden  50  centimes 
(equal  to  about  four  shillings),  and  it  will  be 
noticed  that  it  bears  the  denomination  in  the 
label,  above  the  portrait,  whilst  all  the  other 
new  stamps  have  it  on  the  scroll  below.  There 
is  also  a  difference  in  the 
foliage :  the  expensive  la- 
bel is  decorated  with  oak, 
and  the  cheaper  stamps 
with  laurels.  The  2  gl. 
50  c.  is  printed  in  two 
colours — the  centre  in 
blue,  the  frame  in  car- 
mine-rose, and  it  was  is- 
sued on  the  1  st  ult.  All 
the  new  values  are  printed  in  one  colour. 
Their  emission  is  authorised  by  a  decree  of 
the  6th  June  last,  and  the  following  are  the 


denominations : — 

5  cent. 

blue. 

10     „ 

carmine. 

15     „ 

brown. 

20    „ 

green. 

25     „ 

violet. 

50     „ 

chamois 

<nru-u^J^rv^^-u-^rux^v^vvx^y^rJx^J^-^^', 


Thus,  with  the  exception  of  the  50  c,  the 
colours  of  the  existing  series  will  be  repeated 
in  the  new  type.  The  values  will  be  issued 
separately,  as  fast  as  those  of  the  present 
series  are  exhausted.  The  advance  in  de- 
sign is  a  noticeable  fact.  European  stamps 
count  so  many  mediocrities  in  their  number 
that  any  addition  to  the  small  selection  of 
really  artistic  impressions  is  most  welcome. 
As  nothing  is  said  about  post  cards,  we  pre- 
sume they  will  remain  in  statu  quo,  and 
Dutch  envelopes  are  still  unthought  of. 

United  States. — This  large  and  well- 
engraved  stamp  is  used,  as  its  inscription 
purports,  for  registered  letters.  It  is 
printed  a 
pale  green, 
on  white, 
possesses 
no  mone- 
tary value, 
and  is  at- 
tached to 
the  letters 
by  the  post- 
al officials ; 
our  Bir- 
mingh  a  m 
contempo- 
rary may, 
therefore, 
h  a  r  d  1  y 
deem  it  col- 
lectable, 
but  we  ap- 
prehen  d 
that  most 
philatelists 
will  find  a 

corner — and  it  must  be  a  large  one — for  it. 
After  all,  it  is  only  affixed  to  the  letter  after  the 
payment  of  a  charge  which  covers  a  specially 
guaranteed  mode  of  transport,  and,  there- 
fore, it  appears  to  us  to  fall  within  the  cate- 
gory of  postage  stamps.  It  is  true  that  the 
same  purpose  would  be  served  by  the  im- 
pression of  the  word  "registered,"  with  a 
hand-stamp  ;  but  so,  also,  might  the  ordinary 
postage  be  indicated.  The  end  gained  in 
attaching  an  adhesive  label  is  the  presence  of 
a  plainly  visible  sign  of  the  registration  of 
the  letter,  and  perhaps,  also,  an  economy,  in 


122 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


that  the  stamp  replaces  sealing-wax.  We 
will  not  pretend  that  much  time  is  saved,  for 
such  a  large  sized  impression  would  not 
"stick  with  a  lick,"  but  would  require  more 
extensive  moistening.  The  idea  of  using'  a 
large  stamp  is  probably  borrowed  from  the 
Colombian  vignettes,  which  serve  a  similar 
purpose.  There  is  a  long  and  interesting 
letter  about  the  United  states  registration 
system  in  The  Philatelical  Journal ;  but, 
strange  to  say,  nothing  is  said  about  the  use 
of  the  stamp  above  represented. 

Spain. — More  than  one  type  has  been  de- 
scribed and  illustrated  in  this  and  other 
journals  as  the  real  Simon  Pure  of  the  forth- 
coming series ;  but,  for  one 
reason  or  another,  all  have 
ultimately  been  rejected, 
and  the  annexed  design  has, 
it  is  now  stated,  been  defi- 
nitely adopted.  Time  will 
prove  ;  meanwhile  we  insert 
the  engraving  for  what  it 
may  turn  out  to  be  worth. 
M.  Moens  says  that  the  tricolour  impression, 
for  which  the  recently  appointed  committee 
of  engravers  expressed  a  preference,  will  not 
take  place;  but,  he  adds,  with  a  knowledge 
of  the  uncertainty  which  characterises  all  the 
acts  of  the  Spanish  administration,  it  is  not 
impossible  but  that  this  decision  may  be  re- 
considered. The  new  design  has  not  a  very 
great  deal  to  recommend  it,  unless  it  is 
calumniated  by  our  engraving.  The  king, 
who  has  declared  his  intention  to  defend  his 
throne  at  the  sword's  point,  if  necessary,  can 
hardly  be  the  lymphatic  youth  here  repre- 
sented. 

Spanish  Colonies. — Philippines. — Annex- 
ed is  an  engraving  of  the  recently-designed 
type  for  the  Philippines, 
which  was  described  in  our 
May  number,  from  an  un- 
completed proof.  Since 
then  the  value  has  been  ad- 
ded on  the  side  labels  ;  for 
it  has  positively  been  a- 
dopted,  and  is  at  the  present 
moment  being  worked  off. 
The  engraver,  M.  Fernandez,  says  our  Bel- 
gian authority,  did  not  live  long  to  rejoice 
over  the  acceptance  of  his  work  ;   he  died  on 


nr.ryvinn.'v 


i_ruru^nj3_n_r»_n_rwv4 


the  13th  May.  Two  values  are  already 
known  of  this  new  type — the  16  cents  de 
peseta,  ultramarine ;  and  the  62  cents, 
mauve.  It  is  said  that  three  other  values 
are  to  make  their  appearance,  viz.,  125  c, 
violet ;  250  c,  rose  ;  500  c,  grey.  Mean- 
while, the  Philippine  authorities,  for  lack  of 
the  long  deferred  supplies,  are  said  to  be 
engaged  in  reissuing  the  old  series,  with 
head  of  Isabella,  surcharged  habilitado  por 

LA   NACION. 

Cuba. — This  colony,  like  the  preceding,  is 
likely  to  possess  a  supply  of  stamps  with  a 
portrait  intended  to  repre- 
sent Amadeus,  before  the 
mother-country  has  any. 
Without  any  preliminary 
nourish  of  trumpets,  the 
annexed  design  has  been 
adopted,  and  is  now,  on  dit, 
being  printed  off.  The  type 
so  modestly  ushered  in  is 
stated  by  the  above  quoted  authority  to  be 
the  best  executed  of  all.  One  value  only  is 
known  at  present — the  12  cent  de  peseta, 
black.  Pending  the  issue,  an  extra  stamp  of 
the  1870  type  has  been  issued — the  12  c.  de 
peseta,  carmine-rose ;  but  it  is  distinguished 
from  the  older  values  by  the  absence  of  the 
date. 

Prussia.  —  The  Philatelist  announces  the 
discovery  of  "a  fac-simile  of  the  Prussian 
2  sgr.,  eagle  type,  but  considerably  smaller, 
and  of  a  much  less  azure  blue.  Being 
closely  cut,  it  is  impossible  to  pronounce 
it  envelope  or  adhesive,  but  it  looks  more 
like  the  former,  although  the  back  is  gum- 
med ;  but  this,  probably,  from  its  having 
been  taken  from  an  old  album  in  which  it 
had  been  affixed.  It  has  passed  the  post, 
and  is  undoubtedly  genuine.  The  postmark 
is  beelin  pe  27  11/7  /67  3-4  n."  The 
American  Journal  of  Philately,  following  suit, 
writes  as  follows  : — "  We  have  lately  seen  a 
4  pf.  green  envelope  stamp  of  this  country ; 
it  is  not  an  entire  envelope,  but  has  evident- 
ly passed  the  post:"  and  our  contemporary, 
in  his  next  number,  says  :  "  We  are  indebted 
to  a  collector  for  the  information  that  the 
4  pf.  envelope  described  last  month,  together 
with  a  2  pf.  (both  arms  in  octagon),  were 
used  during  the  war  with  Austria,  to  carry 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


123 


medicines  to  the  soldiers."  Had  our  Ameri- 
can cousin  taken  the  trouble  to  refer  to  the 
sixth  volume  of  The  Stamp-Collector's  Maga- 
zine, p.  26,  he  would  have  found  that  the  4  pf. 
stamp  was  issued  by  the  Victoria  National 
Invaliden-Stjfftung,  a  benevolent  associa- 
tion, which  during  the  Austrian  war  enjoyed 
certain  privileges.  As  to  the  2  sgr.,  eagle 
type,  nothing  certain  is  known,  but  we  in- 
cline to  think  it  must  have  had  a  somewhat 
similar  origin  to  that  of  the  4  pf.  Seeing, 
then,  that  doctors  disagree  so  widely,  we 
refrain  from  offering  any  opinion  of  our  own 
as  to  this  latter  stamp.  As  to  the  first- 
mentioned  stamp,  thiswonderful  resuscitation 
is  doubtless  that  used  by  the  Victoria 
Iuvaliden-Stifftung. 

Sweden. — In  our  February  number  we 
announced  that,  instead  of  a  new  series,  only 
two  new  values,  a  6  ore 
and  one  rix  daler,  were 
on  the  point  of  being  is- 
sued. This  information 
turns  out  to  be  inaccurate. 
The  6  ore  and  1  rix-daler 
have  just  made  their  ap- 
pearance, but  they  are  ac- 
companied by  all  the  pre- 
viously existing  values,  except  the  9  ore. 
The  opportunity  for  indicating  an  advance 
in  the  engraving  art  (if  any  such  advance 
has  been  made)  has  not  been  taken  ad- 
vantage of.  The  new  design  is  extremely 
plain  and  unpretending.  The  stamps  merit 
the  appellation  of  clean-looking,  and  that  is 
about  all.  The  fatal  nu- 
meral— fatal  except  in  very 
gifted  hands,  to  anything 
like  real  gracefulness — oc- 
•  ,=  ,^.  ■■  ,  cupies  the  centre  of  a  solid 
""^  N       ^    circular    disk.     The    ring 

yj^svjT",:  _  ;  which  encircles  the  disk 
■-nsuxj^n^h  bears  tne  inscription  fbi- 
marke  in  its  upper  half, 
and  the  value  in  the  lower.  The  rest  of 
the  space  is  filled  with  a  rather  fine  net- 
work, and  beneath  the  circle,  in  a  straight 
line,  is  the  word  sverige  ;  but  as  it  is  not  on 
a  label  it  mingles  with  the  groundwork,  and 
on  some  of  the  values  is  nearly  illegible.  The 
ground  is  enclosed  in  a  lined  frame,  which 
forms  a  kind  of  etruscan  ornameut  at  the 


P-rx-v-u-u-v"X"T~_  J~u  "w 


corners,  and  this  is  again  surrounded  by  a 
plain  rectangle.  This  description  applies  to 
all  the  values  except  the  highest — the  rix- 
daler — which,  instead  of  the  prosaic  numeral, 
bears,  as  a  central  device,  the  hardly  less 
prosaic  arms,  consisting  of  the  three  crowns, 
on  an  horizontal  lined  ground.  In  all  other 
respects  the  design  is  the  same,  but  the  rix- 
daler  is  printed  in  two  colours,  the  centre  in 
blue,  the  rest  in  buff.  In  size  the  new 
stamps  are  about  equal  to  the  current  German 
series.  They  are  printed  on  a  rather  rough, 
dull  white  paper,  and  neatly  perforated. 
The  colours  are  as  follows:  — 
3  ore 
5    „ 

,,  lilac. 

„  blue, 

red. 

orange-yellow, 
dark  brown, 
rose, 
blue  and  buff. 

from    the     Gmeral 


6  „ 
12  „ 
20  „ 
.  24  „ 
30  „ 
•50  „ 
1  rix-daler 
Germany. — We    copy 


light  brown, 
pale  green. 


,:...  c^-^C 


"  l.GROSCHEN  1 
■  J  HlllfUl 


Postamt  (General  Post  Office),  of  Berlin,  the 
following  notice  of  a  forth- 
coming sub-type  of  the  ex- 
isting series  of  adhesives, 
which  is  to  differ  from  the 
first  edition  in  the  shape 
of  the  eagle.  It  says, — 
"  The  imperial  eagle  in  the 
centre  of  the  German  post- 
age stamps  does  not  ex- 
actly correspond  in  shape  to  the  eagle  of 
the  imperial  arms,  adopted  since  their  is- 
sue. Since  the  1st  June  the  royal  (qy., 
imperial)  printing-office  uses  new  dies,  on 
which  the  form  of  the  eagle,  definitively 
settled,  differs  from  that  of  the  preceding 
type,  principally  in  the  enlargement  of  the 
central  ground,  and  the  addition  of  scrolls  to 
the  crown."  Our  Birmingham  contemporary 
has  already  seen  one  of  the  new  1  sgr.,  and 
says  that  the  shield  surcharged  on  the  eagle 
is  four  times  larger  than  on  the  first  die ;  the 
ground  is  composed  of  dots  placed  vertically, 
instead  of  obliquely,  as  before,  and  the 
general  effect  is  to  embolden  the  somewhat 
dull  appearance  of  the  plain  centre.  We 
have  ourselves  received  a  specimen  of  the 
new  unstamped  post  card,  of  which  five  are 


124 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


sold  to  the  public  for  a  quarter  groschen.  and 
on  comparing  it  with  the  former  emission, 
we  notice  the  same  striking  increase  as  on 
the  adhesive,  in  the  size  of  the  escutcheon  ; 
we  also  observe  that  the  Prussian  eagle,  with 
which  the  escutcheon  is  charged,  which  used 
to  be  inscribed  across  the  breast  with  the 
initials  F.R.,  now  bears  a  shield,  of  which 
the  alternate  quarters  are  black  and  white, 
respectively.  The  new  card  is  much  smaller 
and  thicker  than  the  old  one,  and  is  inscribed 

POSTKARTE. 

Wcrtembtrg. — A  reduction  has  been  de- 
cided on  throughout  Germany  in  the  price 
of  post  cards.  Two  kreuzers,  or  half  a 
groschen,  is  the  universal  rate,  and  it  came 
into  operation  on  the  1st  nit.  As  a  first- 
fruit  of  this  measure  the  Wurtemburg  3  kr. 
and  reply  cards  have  been  withdrawn,  and 
one  kreuzer  cards,  with  an  adhesive  1  kr. 
stamp  added,  have  been  provisionally  issued, 
pending  the  preparation  of  a  new  2  kr. 
card.  The  latter  will  be  inscribed  postkarte, 
and  not  Corresjjondenz- carte,  like  its  prede-  , 
cessor.  For  these  particulars  we  are  in- 
debted to  Le  Timbre-Poste. 

Japan. — A  perforated  set  of  Japanese 
stamps  is  a  totally  unexpected  novelty,  yet 
it  appears  that  it  exists.  We  have  before  ns 
a  specimen,  perf.  11,  colonr  deep  brown,  of 
the  same  general  design  as  its  imperforated 
congener,  but  from  a  new  die,  on  a  crisp, 
thin,  white  paper,  and  with  different  in- 
scriptions in  the  centre.  The  characters 
are  written  mnch  smaller,  and  of  the  two 
which  represent  the  value,  one  is  new  both 
to  the  editor  of  The  Philatelical  Journal 
and  ourselves.  It  is  also  to  be  noticed  that 
the  inscriptions  are  transposed,  the  value 
being  now  uppermost.  The  effect  of  the 
reduction  in  the  size  of  the  characters  is  to 
leave  a  considerable  blank  space  in  the 
centre.  Notice  of  a  perforated  blue  stamp 
has  been  sent  to  the  Birmingham  magazine, 
and  the  correspondent  from  whom  we  hold 
our  brown  specimen,  says  he  possesses  an 
entire  set — presumably  composed  of  the 
four  known  colours.  It  seems  probable 
that  a  thorough  alteration  has  occurred  in 
the  rates,  but  in  a  few  weeks  we  shall,  no 
doubt,  have  positive  intelligence  on  this 
point. 


Prince  Edward  Island. — We  are  now 
able  to  present  our  readers  with  illus- 
trations of  the  two  and 
twelve  cent  values  of  the  new 
series,  and  may  take  occasion 
to  remark  that  the  doubt  as 
to  the  true  colour  of  the 
10  c.  has  not  yet  been  cleared 
up  by  the  Belgian  jour- 
nal. We  may  also  observe 
that  The  American  Jour- 
nal of  Philately  speaks  of  the 
probable  issue  of  two  more 
values,  to  complete  the  new 
series,  a  thirteen  and  a 
twenty-four  cents. 

Mozambique. — The  belief 
in  the  mythical  issue  for  this 
colony,  originally  announced 
by  Le  Timbre-Paste,  is  finally 
exploded  by  M.  Moens  himself,  who  for 
some  time  was  under  the  impression  that  a 
supply  of  all  the  values  was  on  its  way  to 
him.  M.  Moens  quotes  the  following  letter, 
received  by  him  from  Lisbon  : — 

;i  Xo  stamps  are  printed  here  for  that 
colony.  If  Mozambique  has  any  special 
stamps,  which  I  doubt,  they  must  be  made 
on  the  island.  I  hope  shortly  to  be  able  to 
fix  you  definitely  on  the  subject." 

If  no  stamps  should  be  forthcoming,  the 
album-makers  who  have  left  space  for  them 
will  not  thank  the  editor  of  the  Belgian  paper 
for  misleading  them. 

Cashmere. — The  Philatelical  Journal  chro- 
nicles a  green  circular  stamp,  similar  in 
general  appearance  to  the  other  values  of  the 
circular  type.  The  centre  of  the  specimen 
which  our-  contemporary  described  was  too 
blurred  to  admit  of  his  speaking  with  any 
certainty  as  to  the  value ;  it  resembles  the 
half  anna  more  than  any  other,  and  such 
The  Philatelical  Journal  believes  it  to  be,  if 
it  is  not  an  entirely  new  value. 

Madeira  and  the  Azores. — Of  the  new 
series  for  these  possessions  the  following 
values  have  lately  made  their  appearance : 


Madeira. — 
50  reis, 
80   „ 
120   ., 


bright  yellowish-green. 

orange. 

blue. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


125 


Azores. — 
80  reis, 
100    ,. 


orange, 
pale  lilac. 


Fiji  Islaxds. — The  same  authority  an- 
nounces the  issue  of  a  second  edition  of  the 
surcharged  stamps,  amongst  which  the  12 
cents  figures  in  a  very  rich  shade  of  carmine 
red,  and  the  2  c.  is  found  of  a  darker  hue ; 
it  also  states  that  there  is  a  possibility  of  a 
fresh  series  being  emitted,  adorned  with  the 
portrait  of  the  respected  Caconibau. 

Falkland  Islands. — The  postal  value  of  the 
handstamped  impression,  Falkland  islands, 
paid,  varies,  according  to  the  weight  of  the 
letter  it  franks,  from  6d.  to  7s.  6d.,  and, 
perhaps,  higher.  The  amount  is  written  at 
the  side  of  the  impression,  and  as  a  contem- 
porary remarks,  in  a  philatelical  light,  one 
specimen  is  sufficient,  and  of  equal  value, 
whether  the  written  inscription  reads  six- 
pence or  seven-and-sixpence. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope. — We  learn  from  Le 
Timbre-Poste  that  the  shilling  stamp  (rect.) 
of  the  first  sub-type  now  comes  over  printed 
a  very  deep  green,  and  The  Philatelical  Jour- 
nal furnishes  us  with  information,  that  the 
one  penny  (new  die)  is  in  a  rich  shade  of 
carmine  ;  the  5s.  of  a  rich  chrome  yellow  and 
in  burnt  sienna  of  the  water-colour  makers  ; 
and  that  the  4d.  blue  is  again  in  use. 

Mexico. — The  stamps  of  the  new  type  re- 
cently received  have  the  surcharged  name  in 
ordinary  characters,  printed  in  an  arch, 
above  the  portrait.  M.  Moens  has  met  with 
specimens  of  the  25c,  50c,  and  100c,  bearing 
an  undecipherable  watermark  near  the  edge. 


A  Letter-Box  on  Fire.— The  contents  of  the  letter- 
box at  the  Bordeaux  post-office  were  set  fire  to  by  an 
inc3ndiary,  about  the  18th  of  last  month.  The  postmaster 
issued  a  notice,  in  which,  after  saying  that  he  considers 
it  to  be  his  duty  to  inform  all  whom  it  might  concern,  of 
the  measures  taken  for  despatching  or  returning  to  the 
senders  the  debris  of  the  letters  found  in  the  box,  he 
adds,  "From  the  quantity  of  carbonised  paper  found 
in  the  box,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  number  of 
letters  have  been  entirely  destroyed.  Twenty-six  which 
were  found  intact  were  reforwarded ;  27  slightly  burnt 
were  also  despatched  after  annotation,  57  partly  burnt 
have  been  sent  on  under  a  second  envelope,  18  fragments 
of  letters  bearing  the  seals  of  commercial  houses  have 
been  returned  to  the  senders,  the  debris  of  64  letters 
entirely  carbonised  are  retained  at  the  post-office,  and 
88  partly-burnt  journals  have  been  handed  back  to  the 
publishei-s.  Steps  are  being  taken  to  have  the  box 
guarded  from  the  outside  at  night." 


NOTES   FOR   COLLECTORS.— II. 

BY   A   PARISIAN   COLLECTOR. 

Austria:. 

FIRST  SERIES. 
The  first  series  of  stamps  for  Austria  was 
issued  on  the  1st  of  June,  1850.  Mr.  Overy 
Taylor,  to  whose  paper  we  refer  for  the 
general  description  of  this  and  all  the 
remaining  series,  gives  the  date  as  the  10th 
of  June,  but  we  believe  it  to  be  an  error. 

The  series  continued  in  use  during  a 
period  of  upwards  of  eight  years;  and,  as 
might  be  anticipated,  in  the  course  of  so  long 
an  existence  it  went  through  several  phases  of 
variety.* 

It  is  unfortunate  that  we  can  gather  but 
little  information  from  the  obliterating  marks 
on  these  stamps.  There  appears  to  be  a 
want  of  uniformity  in  them  ;  and  though,  in 
common  with  many  of  the  obliterating  marks 
used  in  Germany,  they  not  unfrequently 
bear  the  date  of  the  day  and  the  month,  yet 
very  few  bear  that  of  the  year  ;  and  we  have 
been  able  to  find  none  of  a  date  anterior  to 
1855. 

With  respect  to  the  gumming,  all  the 
specimens  which  we  have  found,  from  the 
year  1855  to  the  close  of  the  series,  are 
furnished  with  a  thick  coating  of  some 
adhesive  matter,  which,  from  its  toughness, 
and  from  its  swelling  and  turning  into  a 
kind  of  jelly  when  put  into  water,  we  take  to 
be  dextrine.  Specimens  of  an  earlier  date, 
however,  are  to  be  found,  with  gum  of  a 
darker  colour  and  more  friable.  The  impres- 
sions on  these  specimens  are  invariably  in 
brighter  and  clearer  colours. 

M.  Berger-Levrault  describes  this  series 
as  being  printed  on  papier  verge  blanc;  by 
which,  as  he  explains  it  subsequently,  he 
means  hand-made  paper,  not  necessarily 
marked  with  lines  in  the  grain.  Having  had 
the  opportunity  of  examining  a  very  large 
number  of  stamps  of  this  series,  we  can  safely 

*  Before  going  farther,  I  would  once  for  all  acknowledge 
with  thanks  the  liberal  manner  in  which  M.  Moens, 
Mr.  Young,  and  other  dealers  have  at  all  times  permitted 
me  to  examine  their  extensive  stocks.  The  assistance 
thus  given  is  incalculable;  I  havje  been  enabled  by  it 
to  examine,  even  in  the  first  series  for  Austria,  some 
thousands  of  specimens. 


126 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


say  that  M.  Berger-Levrault  is  in  error,  for 
all  the  later  portion  of  the  series  is  printed 
on  paper  similar  to  that  employed  for  the 
second  series,  which  is  plain  stout  wove. 
We  have,  consequently,  two  distinct  classes 
in  the  first  series ;  one  on  hand-made  paper, 
and  the  other  on  wove.  From  an  examina- 
tion of  the  obliterating  marks,  it  does  not 
appear  probable  that  the  wove  paper  was  em- 
ployed prior  to  1856-7. 

The  hand-made  paper  presents  considerable 
varieties  of  texture  and  substance.  Varieties 
of  colour  may  also  be  observed,  the  older 
copies  being  yellow  ;  but  this  discolouration 
is  probably  in  a  great  degree  owing  to  the 
gum,  which,  upon  such  copies,  is  of  a  darker 
colour.  "We  see  but  little  good  to  be 
gained  by  seeking  to  subdivide  this  class, 
lb  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  paper  is  rough 
and  unsurfaced,  varying  a  good  deal  in 
thickness ;  it  shows  no  distinct  lines  or 
vergeures,  except  in  some  few  copies  of  the 
3  kreuzer  value.  This  latter  paper  does  not 
appear  to  be  what  is  commonly  called  laid, 
but  ought  rather  to  be  called  ribbed  paper. 

The  stamps  were  printed  in  sheets  of 
sixty,  disposed  in  rows  of  eight.  As  the  sixty 
stamps  only  made  seven-and-a-half  rows,  the 
remaining  four  blanks  were  filled  up  by  St. 
Andrew's  crosses  of  the  same  colour  as  the 
die  of  the  impression,  on  a  white  ground  ; 
'thus  making  a  symmetrical  sheet  of  eight 
stamps  in  eight  rows.  A  curious  fact  is 
noticed  in  M.  Berger-Levrault's  catalogue, 
viz.,  the  existence  of  a  rouletted  copy  of  the 
blue  cross.  In  the  beautiful  collection  of  a 
Brussels  amateur,  a  copy  also  exists  of  a 
similar  cross,  machine  perforated  15.  As  no 
stamps  in  this  series  have  been  found  either 
rouletted  or  machine  perforated,  it  is  fair  to 
suppose  that  previously  to  the  issue  of  the 
next  series,  experiments  in  perforation  were 
made  on  some  printed  sheets  of  the  9  kreuzer 
of  this  series,  which  were  never  issued  to  the 
public. 

The  colours  of  the  impressions  present  the 
following  varieties. 

1  kreuzer,  ochre,  to  orange-yellow  and  bright  yellow. 

2  ,,        intense  black  and  black. 

3  ,,         bright  vermilion,  to  scarlet  and  brick -red. 
6      „        red-brown,  to  warm  brown   and   umber- 
brown. 

9       ,,        Prussian  blue,  to  sky  blue  and  dull  light 
blue. 


Classification. 

I. — Hand- made  paper,  varying  in  thickness, 
and  in  colour  from  yellowish  to  dead  white. 
1  kreuzer,  ochre  (shades). 

1  „  orange-yellow  (shades).  Specimens  are 
not  uncommonly  found  printed  on  both 
sides. 

1  ,,         chrome-yellow  (shades). 

2  ,,         intense  black,  black. 

3  ,,        vermilion  (shades). 

3  ,,  scarlet  (shades).  Specimens  are  to  be 
found  on  paper  showing  vergeures,  but 
they  are  exceedingly  rare. 

6       ,,         red-brown  (shades),  warm  brown  (sbades). 

9  ,,  Prussian  blue  (shades),  sky-blue,  dull  blue 
(shades), 

II. — Wove  paper,  white  and  smooth. 

1  kreuzer,  Naples   yellow    (shades),    light     chrome- 

vellow. 

2  „         black. 

3  „  scarlet,  brick-red  to  very  pale  red. 
6       ,,         light  umber-brown. 

9       ,,         light  Prussian  blue. 


NOTES  ON 
THE  LOCALS  OF  CALIFORNIA 

AND   THE 

WESTERN    STATES    OF   AMERICA. 
III. 

BY   EDWARD   L.    PEMBERTON. 

{Continued from  vol.  x.,p.  37.) 
The  next  group  of  Expresses  includes  : — 
Sept.,  1849,     Hawley  &  Co. 
May,  1850,      Angle  &  Co. 
Dec,  1851,       Freeman  &  Co. 
Now,  according  to  Mr.  Todd,  the  second 
Express  ever  started  ran  under  the  name  of 
Hawley  &  Co.,  and  was  owned  by  Messrs. 
Hawley  &  Spear ;  the  only  printed  notices 
have  been  supplied  to  me    by    Mr.  Lomler, 
and  they  are  the  following  : — 
May  18,  1850,  Angle  &  Co. 

ANGLE  &  CO.'S  EXPRESS  TO  SACRAMENTO.- Letters,  gold  dust, 
&<•..  forwarded.  Office  at  Messrs.  F.tts  and  Tilden's,  San  Francisco. 
Justus  Spear,  proprietor. 

March  20,  1850.     Hawley  &  Co. 

HAWLEY  &  CO.'S  EXPRESS  TO  THE  ATLANTIC  STATES.— 
Agents  at  Sacramento,  Benicia,  Fremont,  Marysville,  Nicolaus,  Eliza 
City,  &c,  &c.     T.  R.  Hawley,  owner. 

From  these  advertisements  it  is  evident 
that  Mr.  Spear,  if  he  actually  was  a  partner 
in  Hawley  &  Co.,  in  1849  seceded  and  joined 
Angle  &  Co.,  which  Express  in  May,  1850, 
was  entirely  in  his  own  hands ;  but  I  am 
inclined  to  think  Angle  &  Co.  (T.  Spear, 
owner)  and  Hawley  &  Co.  (J.  R.  Hawley, 
owner)  contemporaneous  and  distinct;  for  it 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


127 


appears  that  on  July  1,  1850,  Angle  &  Co. 
were  bought  out  by  Hawley  &  Co.,  at  the 
same  date  the  latter  firm  being  joined  by 
Mr.  J.  M.  Freeman.  Mr.  Hawley  having 
purchased  Mr.  Spear's  Express,  would,  of 
course,  account  for  the  connection  of  the 
names  in  Mr.  Todd's  memory ;  our  explan- 
ation, if  correct,  as  we  believe,  would  give 
Hawley  &  Co.  starting  Sept.,  ]  849,  absorbing 
Angle  &  Co.  in  July,  1850,  and  being  them- 
selves changed  to  the  style  of  Freeman  & 
Co's  Express  some  time  during  1851,  when 
the  partner  of  that  name  bought  the  whole 
business.  We  have  seen  no  franks  of  either 
Angle  or  Hawley. 

1851.  Freeman  &  Co. — This  was  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  nourishing  Expresses 
of  the  early  days,  and  continued  in  operation 
till  June,  1860.  The  handstamps  are  not 
numerous  ;  indeed  the  only  one  which  I  have 
is  oval. 

The  following  advertisement  is  transcribed 
from  a  paper  of  the  year  1851 : — 

FREEMAV    &    CO.'§    EXPRKIS- 

DAILY  to  SACRAMENTO  CITY,  MARYSVILLE   and  NEVAD/    CITY. 

F.  &  CO.  have  safes  in  their  express  rooms  on  board  the  fast  steamers 
Senator,  New  World,  and  Gov.  Dana,  for  the  security  of  treasure 
entrusted  to  them,  which  is  always  accompanied  by  faithful  messengers. 
Orders,  bills,  packages,  &c.  forwarded,  and  all  business  pertainingto  an 
Express  promptly  attended  to. 

F.  &  CO.  is  the  only  firm  in  the  Valley  of  the  Sacramento  connecting 
with  Messrs.  ADAMS  &  CO.,  on  whom  they  are  authorized  to  draw  Bills 
of  Exchange  for  any  amouut.  payable  in  New  Orleans,  New  York,  and  all 
the  principal  cities  of  the  Atlantic  States. 

Offices— San  Francisco,  in  Adams  &  Co.'s  new  fireproof  building. 

Sacramento  City,  at  42,  Second  street. 

Marysville,  at  Snow  &  Lunts,  on  the  Plaza. 

3=55~  Bowers  &  Co.  connect  with  us  at  Sacramento  from  Nevada  City. 
&3T  Langton  &  Co.  connect  with  us  at  Sacramento  from  Downieviile. 

The  printed  franks  and  varieties,  which  are 
numerous,  will  be  described  in  due  order. 

In  an  old  directory  we  find  the  following 
notices  : — 

FREEMAN  &  CO.'S  ATLANTIC  AND  EUROPEAN  EXPRESS, 
Office  N.E.  cor  Saeo  and  Mont'y.  Established  in  1849  under  the  above 
style  as  an  interior  Express,  having  principal  offices  in  San  Francisco  and 
Sacramento,  from  which  branches  radiated  throughout  the  State.  June, 
1852,  Mr.  Freeman  became  connected  with  the  celebrated  house  of  Adams 
&  Co.,  from  which  he  withdrew  July  14th,  1853,  and  after  a  prolonged  ab- 
sence from  California,  during  which  he  established  expresses  in  the  prin- 
cipal cities  and  towns  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America.  After  the 
failure  of  Adams  &  Co.  the  above  house  re-established  in  this  city  May 
16,  1855,  and  have  expresses  to  and  from  all  parts  of  the  Atlantic  States 
and  Europe. 

FREEMAN  JOHN  M.  of  FREEMAN  &  CO.,  N.E..  cor  Mont'y  and 
Sac'o.  Mr.  Freeman  may  very  properly  lay  claim  to  the  position  of 
pioneer  of  his  present  business  in  California. 

This  appears  rather  to  invalidate  the 
Hawley  and  Freeman  arrangemement  above, 
but  we  feel  sure  that  Mr.  Todd  was  the 
pioneer  expressman  of  California ;  for  the 
rest  we  can  only  trust  to  time  for  a  final 
correction. 

Nov.,  1849.     Berfohd  &  Co.— This  is  not 


quite  so  unknown  as  the  majority  of  those 
we  have  so  far  described.  Tn  a  paper  of  Dec. 
26,  1849,  is  the  following  advertisement : — 

BERFORD  &  CO..  UNITED  STATES  AND  CALIFORNIA  EXPRESS; 
AND  INDEPENDENT  MAIL  CO.  R.  G.  Berford  &  Co.,  San  Francisco 
T.  J.  Bayless  &  Co..  Sacramento  ;  Charles  Plitt  &  Co.,  San  Jose.  Run 
to  Atlantic  States,  Sacramento,  Stockton,  San  Jose,  and  Interior. 

According  to  another  advertisement  of 
Dec.  21,  1851,  the  owners  were  R.  G. 
Berford  and  J.  C.  Hackett,  but  the  following 
ought  to  be  quoted  first;  (the  name  now 
drops  "  California  "  Express  it  will  be 
noticed,  which  distinction  appears  on  the 
franks). 

BERFORD    &    CO.'S    EXPRESS. 

FOR  THE  ATLANTIC  STATES,  November  1st,  1851,  by  the  splendid 
fast  running  Steamer, 

Tennessee, 

Geo.  M.  Tottex,  Commander. 

A  Special  Messenger  will  be  despatched  as  usual,  who  will  take  charge 

of  our  Express,  Goods,  Gold  Dust,  etc.,  and  deliver  to  all  parts  of  the 

States  without  delay,  and  on  the  most  reasonable  terms.    We  will  also 

send 

A    Special    Messenger 

by  the  new  route,  via  Nicaragua,  Nov.  1st,  by  the  new  and  fast  running 
Steamer, 

Pacific,  Jartis,  Master, 

who  will  take  charge  of  our  INDEPENDENT  MAIL,  and  packages  of 
every  description. 

Letters  received  till  3  o"clock,  and  parcels  till  2  o'clock  on  day  of 
sailing.  BERFORD   &  CO., 

California  Exchange, 
Corner  of  Clay  and  Kearny  streets. 

We  cannot  add  anything  more  to  these  dry- 
details,  so,  not  to  waste  time  and  space,  will 
summarily  describe  the  franks.  They  may  be 
briefly  divided  into  two  types. 

1st.  Berford  Sf  Co.'s  California  Express, 
Paid.  This  is  found  stamped  in  black,  blue, 
and  greenish  ink  ;  large  transverse  oval. 

2nd.  Berford  Sf  Co.'s  Express,  Paid.  This 
is  stamped  in  black  and  blue  ink ;  large 
transverse  double  oval ;  paid  in  centre.  This 
company,  after  a  presumably  prosperous 
career,  was  bought  out  by  Wells,  Fargo,  & 
Co.,  in  June,  1854. 

End  of  1849.  Adams  &  Co.  From  a 
paper  of  Dec.  14,  1849,  I  find  the  names  of 
the  proprietors  of  this  well-known  express. 
They  were  Alvin  Adams,  Boston  ;  Wm.  B'. 
Dinsmore,  New  York  ;  and  D.  H.  Haskell, 
San  Francisco.  They  had  lines  to  the 
Atlantic  States  and  Interior,  but  failed  in 
Feb.  23,  1855  ;  at  least  so  runs  my  infor- 
mation. The  handstamps  used  were  various, 
and  I  possess  the  following  : — 

1st.  Adams  Sf  Co.'s  Express,  Sacramento. 
Star  each  side ;  red,  transverse  oval,  on 
letters  of  February  14,  1852,  and  March  29, 
1853. 


128 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


2nd.  Adams  §*  Co.'s  Express,  Stockton,  blue. 
3rd.  Adams  8f  Co.'s  Express,  Sonora,  blue. 
Both  transverse  ovals,  and  probably  in  use 
in  1851,  latter  half. 

4th.  Adams  8f  Co.'s  Express,  Sacramento. 
Blue,  large  double  circle,  with  date  in  centre. 
This  is  one  of  the  few  Express  Companies 
that  issued  an  adhesive  stamp  ;  its  value 
was  25  cents,  it  was  used  in  1853,  and  it 
will  be  duly  described  in  full.  It  was 
noticed  in  The  Stamp-Collector *s  Magazine 
for  1870. 

The  following  will  be  described  in  our 
next  paper  : — 

Gregory  &  Co. 

Rowe  &  Co. 

Rhodes  &  Co. 

Rhodes  &  Whitney. 

Blake. 

Hunter  &  Co. 

Wines  &  Co. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

THE  SICILIAN  STAMPS,  WITH  HEAD   OF 
FERDINAND  II. 

To  the  Editor  o/liTHE  Stamp-Collector's  Magazixe." 

Dear  Sir,— It  has  sometimes  been  asserted  that  the 
unused  Sicilian  stamps  of  1859  (which  have  been  offered 
rather  freely,  and  at  a  low  price  to  collectors)  are  reprints, 
but  I  have  been  very  slow  to  believe  this ;  and  I  am  now 
confirmed  in  my  opinion  that  they  are  genuine  "  remain- 
ders," by  the  fact,  that  at  this  present  time  they  have 
become  comparatively  scarce.  Had  they  been  reprints, 
there  would  have  been  no  falling-off  in  the  supplies. 
Yours  faithful lv, 

Norfolk.  K.  T.  Y. 


THE  RECENT  POSTAGE-STAMP  AUCTION. 
To  the  Editor  of  "The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sib, — In  a  letter  published  by  you  in  the  last 
number  of  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine,  under  the 
title  of  "An  American  Collector  on  the  recent  Auction 
Sale,"  several  statements  are  made  that  are  entirely  with- 
out foundation,  and  as  our  firm  is  mentioned,  we  deem  it 
our  duty  to  give  the  facts  of  the  case  to  collectors. 

First  :  neither  Mr.  Francis  Foster  nor  any  other  col- 
lector has  ever  had  the  opportunity  of  purchasing  a  single 
specimen  that  was  included  in  the  late  auction  sale  before 
that  event  came  off;  and  with  regard  to  leaving  the 
prices  to  chance,  we  had  four  different  standing  offers  of 
S  100  each  for  the  20  c.  St.  Louis,  and  were  offered  £100  for 
twenty  stamps  that  were  included  in  the  sale,  and  those 
not  all  the  scarcest  ones. 

.  Secondly  :  Mr.  Foster — like  all  other  discoverers  of 
Confederate  Locals — '"secured  all  he  ever  saw  or  heard  of," 
but  so  far  from  one  being  secured  for  a  "  fellow  collector" 
(some  special  one  being  implied),  it  was  left  on  sale  with 
two  different  Boston  dealers  (S.  A.  Taylor  and  F.  Trifet), 
and  was  finally  sold  to  Dr.  Petrie  for  %  20. 


Hoping  that  you  will  do  us  the  justice  to  insert  this  in 
the  next  number  of  the  magazine. 

We  are,  yours  truly, 
London.  J.  W:  SCOTT  &  CO. 


THE  PETERSBURG  STAMP. 
To  the  Editor  of  "The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir,— As  promised  in  my  previous  article  on  this 
stamp,  I  have  made  further  inquiries  in  regard  to  the 
exact  date  of  its  issue,  and  have  succeeded  in  obtaining 
the  following  important  information  on  that  subject.  For 
a  long  time  there  seemed  to  be  little  or  no  chance  of 
obtaining  any  clue  to  the  date  of  issue,  until  Mr.  Young 
(to  whom  I  am  again  indebted)  "discovered"  a  certain 
Mr.  Steinback.  who  was  a  clerk  in  the  Petersburg  post- 
office,  during  the  war. 

The  only  way  in  which  Steinback  could  even  approxi- 
mately fix  the  date  of  issue  was  bv  the  death  of"  Mr. 

H N .     The  way  in  which  Mr.  N 

was  concerned  was  this  : — 

Mr.  N was  a  profound  believer  in  Franklin's 

motto,  "A  penny  saved  is  a  penny  earned,"  so  when  he 
bought  fifty  cents  worth  of  the  provisional  stamps  at  the 
Petersburg  post-office,  he  could  not  quite  see  the  force  of 
paying  fifty-one  cents.  It  seems  that  there  was  a  rule 
that  anyone  buying  so  large  a  quantity  as  fifty  cents 
worth,  should  contribute  an  extra  cent,  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  printing,  &c.     "Well,  to  make  a  long  story 

short,  Mr.  N ,  who  was  among  the  first  to  buy  the 

stamps,  resisted  the  rule,  and  made  it  rather  "  lively  "  for 
the  post-office  clerks,  and  Steinback  says  that  his  death, 
shortly  afterwards,  was  looked  upon  by  them  in  the  light 
of  a  special  Providence,  introduced  to  save  them  from 
being  talked  and  worried  to  an  untimely  end.  Taking 
these  circumstances  into  consideration,  Mr.  Steinback 
fixes  the  date  of  issue  as  March,  1862,  and  the  date  after 
which  no  more  were  sold  to  the  public  as  November,  1862, 
although,  of  course,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  such 
persons  as  had  previously  purchased  them  from  using 
them  after  that  date.  This  accounts  for  a  few  specimens 
being  found  dated  as  late  as  February  (1863). 

In  regard  to  the  handstamp,  the  clerks  recognize  the 
blue  (round)  one,  as  the  one  generally  used.  It  is  probable 
that  the  black  oval  was  used  prior  to  the  blue  one,  but 
given  up  in  March  or  April,  1862. 

The  above,  coming  as  it  does  from  official  sources,  and 
added  to  the  proof  given  in  my  last,  leaves  no  longer  any 
reason  for  doubting  the  genuine  character  of  types  I.  and 
II.,  including  their  minor  varieties,  which  latter  are 
entirely  due  to  the  stamps  being  type-set. 

And  now,  a  few  words  in  defence  of  the  "Pleasant 
Shade."  Most  collectors  know  that  this  stamp  is  in  every 
respect  identical  with  Type  II.  of  the  Petersburg,  and 
having  proved  the  genuine  character  of  the  latter,  it  may 
naturally  be  inferred  that  "Pleasant  Shade  "  is  likewise 
authentic.  But  this  is  not  the  point  that  has  been 
disputed.  Some  of  our  European  collectors  base  their 
doubts  on  the  ground  that  "  no  such  place  is  to  be  found 
on  the  map."  Perhaps  if  they  will  again  be  good  enough 
to  turn  to  the  state  of  Virginia  in  their  atlas,  and  follow 
the  Petersburg  and  Weldon  R.  R.,  they  will  find  in 
Brunswick  Co.  a  siation  by  the  name  of  Hicksford,  and 
near  by  the  mysterious ""  Pleasant  Shade,"  whence 
emanated  the  label  in  question.  I  may  state  that 
Campbell,  the  printer  of  the  Petersburg,  stamps,  distinctly 
remembers  having  printed  a  similar  one  for  Pleasant 
Shade  also. 

Yours  truly, 

New  York.  CHARLES  H.   COSTER. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


129 


OUR   CONTEMPORARIES. 

[Emissions  noticed  in  the  present  Article  : — Hon- 
duras— Ecuador — Chili — Alsace  and  Lori  aine —  Vene- 
zuela.] 

The  Philatelist. — The  July  and  August  num- 
bers are  both  well  up  to  the  usual  standard. 
The  principal  articles  in  the  former  are  the 
Parisian  Collector's  notes  on  "The  Envelopes 
of  Germany,"  "The  Philatelic  Press,"  and  the 
"  Notes  on  the  Chilian  Stamps  of  the  first 
Emission."  In  the  latter  the  "  Spud  Papers  " 
come  to  the  fore,  together  with  a  prize  essay, 
from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  R.  B.  Earee. 

In  the  "  Notes  on  the  Envelopes  of  Ger- 
many "  a  short  sketch  of  the  Tour  and  Taxis 
office  is  given,  which  the  writer  believed  to 
be  the  first  information  published  in  an 
English  magazine  respecting  it ;  but,  in 
reality,  the  history  he  gives  was  translated  by 
Le  Timbre-Poste  from  an  article,  written  by 
Mr.  Mount  Brown,-  which  appeared  in  the 
first  number  of  The  Stamp-Collector  s Magazine. 
Thus  much  in  rectification  ;  the  repetition  of 
the  details  given  so  long  ago  cannot  be 
otherwise  than  acceptable  to  the  new  gene- 
ration of  stamp-collectors  which  has  since 
arisen. 

The  only  noteworthy  item  in  "  The  Phila- 
telic Press"  is  the  explanation,  quoted  from 
Le  Timbropkile,  of  the  impression  of  the 
Honduras  and  Ecuador  stamps  in  two 
colours.  The  green  1  real  of  each  country 
is  reserved  exclusively  for  home  service, 
whilst  the  1  real  pink  of  Honduras  and 
yellow  of  Ecuador  are,  respectively,  used  for 
foreign  correspondence  only. 

From  the  paper  on  the  Chilian  stamps 
we  learn,  that  the  law  authorising  their 
emission  is  dated  October,  1852  ;  that  the 
metallic  plates  were  engraved  in  England, 
and  were  sent  out  with  the  first  supply  of 
labels.  The  1  c.  was  issued  alone,  after  the 
three  other  values,  and  not  in  1852,  but  in 
the  following  year.  In  1854  the  10  c.  was 
for  the  first  time  made  to  do  duty  for  the  5  c  , 
by  being  diagonally  halved. 

In  a  reply  to  a  correspondent  the  editor 
states  that  the  whole  of  the  surplus  stock  of 
the  Alsace  and  Lorraine  stamps  has  been  de- 
stroyed ;  if  so,  we  may  expect  to  see  those 
that  are  in  the  hands  of  dealers  rising  in 
price.     By  the    way,   is   the    designation    of 

VOL.  X.    No.  110. 


these  stamps  as  Alsace  and  Lorraine  quite 
accurate  ?  They  were  used  wherever  the 
Germans  effected  a  lodgment,  and  at  least  as 
far  north  as  Amiens. 

The  "Spud"  paper,  in  the  August  number, 
unearths  some  very  dangerous  Venezuelan 
forgeries.  Of  the  first  type  the  most  easily 
recognisable  points  in  the  counterfeits  are  the 
white  spot  above  the  E  in  correo,  and  the  posi- 
tion of  the  z  in  Venezuela,  which  falls  just 
under  the  eo  of  correo.  The  forged  medio- 
centavo  of  18G1  has  the  d  of  ltbertad  at  some 
distance  from  the  end  of  the  ribbon,  whilst  in 
the  original  it  is  close  to  the  end  ;  further- 
more, the  forgery  shows  a  very  small  dot 
over  the  I  of  medio;  the  true  stamp  has  the 
dot  full  and  distinct. 

"  How  shall  we  Collect  "  is  a  well- written 
paper,  arguing  in  favour  of  collection  after 
the  French  style,  and  we  can  but  regret  that 
it  should  have  been  held  back  so  long,  as  its 
arguments  have  lost  some  of  the  freshness 
they  would  have  possessed  at  the  time  it  was 
written — two  years  ago.  Yet  it  would  still  do 
our  American  friends  some  good  to  read, 
mark,  learn,  and  inwardly  digest  the  precepts 
it  contains.  They  are  the  most  obstinate  re- 
jectors of  an  extended  system  of  collecting ; 
but  even  they  will,  sooner  or  later,  come 
round. 

The  editor  of  The  Philatelist,  in  a  short 
paragraph  treating  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Philatelic  Society,  complains  that  we  re- 
presented the  recent  meetings  at  Dr.  Viuer's 
house  as  unofficial.  We  certainly  thought 
they  were  so,  from  the  terms  in  which  they 
were  referred  to  by  our  correspondent ;  but, 
to  prevent  any  misunderstanding  in  future, 
the  simplest  thing  would  be  for  the  assistant- 
secretary  to  send  us  a  copy  of  his  minutes  of 
the  proceedings,  if  he  be  so  minded.  We  may 
add,  that  as  the  business  of  the  meetings  in 
question  was  confined  to  the  comparison  of 
collections,  and  no  serious  work  was  done, 
there  was  all  the  more  reason  for  our  sup- 
position that  they  were  unofficial. 

Le  Tivibre-Poste. — In  discussing  the  con- 
tents of  the  July  number  we  omitted  to  re- 
fer to  the  article  on  the  "  Perforation  of  the 
Spanish  Stamps,"  or  rather  their  piquane. 
Several  trials  were  made  in  1858  on  some 
sheets  of  4  cuartos  stamps  of  the  1857  type, 


130 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


and  M.  Moens  has  received  specimens  of 
these  stamps,  which,  it  turns  out,  are  not 
pique,  but  perforated  after  the  fashion  of 
some  of  the  St.  Thomas  and  La  Guaira  stamps. 
In  1862  the  engraver,  M.  Alabern,  obtained 
a.  machine  from  M.  Susse,  of  Paris,  and  it 
was  tried  on  some  sheets  of  4  cuartos,  of  the 
1862  type,  printed  in  brown  on  white,  but 
was  rejected  because  it  was  not  capable  of 
turning  out,  within  a  given  time,  the  required 
number  of  stamps.  Finally,  Messrs.  Gon- 
welocs  Brothers,  of  Brussels,  after  giving 
proof  of  their  ability  to  meet  the  long-felt 
want,  received  the  order  to  supply  two  of 
their  machines  in  1864,  and  they  were  em- 
ployed to  perforate  the  1865  series. 

The  August  number  is  composed  of  the 
Chronicle,  an  instalment  of  Dr.  Magnus's 
monograph  on  envelope  stamps,  and  an  ar- 
ticle on  the  German  field-post  service 
during  the  late  war,  in  which  is  detailed 
the  completeness  of  the  arrangements  made 
to  secure  the  regular  exchange  of  correspond- 
ence between  the  German  soldiers  and  their 
friends,  who  "  sat  at  home  at  ease "  (?). 
The  following  extract  will  exemplify  the 
style  of  the  article  :  — 

"  It  was  principally  under  the  sheds  and  in 
the  barns  that  the  army  post-office  installed 
itself.  On  arriving  at  the  bivouac  the  postal 
waggons  were  drawn  up,  and  a  sort  of  in- 
trenchment  formed,  behind  which  the  officials 
set  to  work.  Tables  for  sorting  were  impro- 
vised, or  the  clerks  grouped  themselves  on 
the  ground,  the  quicker  to  get  through  the 
work.  This  encampment  was  the  signal  for 
everyone  to  get  ready  his  correspondence. 
For  lack  of  a  desk,  the  soldiers  scribbled  away, 
no  matter  how  or  where.  It  was  on  such 
occasions  that  the  utility  of  the  post  card 
was  appreciated  ;  to  pull  one  out  of  the 
haversack,  and  trace  upon  it  a  few  hasty 
words  of  remembrance,  was  the  work  of  a 
minute.  The  administration  had  had  twelve 
millions  of  these  cards  printed,  and  they 
were  distributed  among  the  soldiers  on  their 
entry  into  active  service.  The  simple  private, 
equally  with  the  officer  of  the  highest  grade, 
no  matter  where  he  might  be, — at  the 
bivouac,  the  advanced  p^sts,  or  in  the 
trenches, — received  his  letters  from  home  as 
regularly  as  in  the  piping  times  of  peace. 


The  American  Journal  of  Philately. — From 
the  last  number  we  learn  that  the  collection 
of  that  well-known  amateur,  Mr.  Lomler, 
of  San  Francisco,  is  to  be  sold  by  auction. 
No  doubt  it  will  turn  out.  to  be  exceptionally 
rich  in  scarce  Californian  franks.  The 
Charleston  and  Columbia  stamps  are  treated 
of  by  Mr.  Scott,  and  then  comes  a  long 
article  on  the  "  United  States  Newspaper 
Stamps,"  which  is  as  uninteresting  as  the 
unpostal  labels  (to  coin  an  expression)  of 
which  it  treats.  The  monthly  chronicle, 
reviews,  "  Correspondence,"  and  the  "  An- 
swers to  Correspondents,"  complete  the 
number.  In  the  "Answers"  we  commenced 
reading  with  interest  the  editor's  promise  to 
a  correspondent, — "  We  will  endeavour  to 
embrace;" — but  the  completion  of  the  sen- 
tence— "the  information  you  require" — was 
disappointing.  Still  it  gives  us  a  hint ;  we 
shall  know  what  to  do  with  information 
the  next  time  we  meet  with  it. 

The  Philatdical  Journal. —  The  current 
number  opens  wTith  an  announcement  which 
we  feel  sure  will  give  rise  to  general  regret ; 
the  editor  has  been  laid  up  by  a  severe  attack 
of  rheumatic  fever,  and  "  at  the  time  of 
writing  he  is  still  unpronounced  out  of  dan- 
ger." If  the  good  wishes  of  philatelists 
everywhere  can  avail,  his  recovery  will  be 
speedy  and  complete.  The  number  under 
review  is  as  readable  as  its  predecessors,  but, 
perhaps  because  the  keen  editorial  eye  has 
been  absent,  we  notice  a  few  rather  promi- 
nent typographical  slips  ;  thus,  habilitado,  on 
p.  138,  is  written  "habitado;"  "  cronicled" 
does  duty  for  chronicled,  and  "Mada,"  p.  139, 
for  Maclka.  The  "Cream  of  the  Magazines" 
is  briefer  than  usual,  but  the  quality  of  the 
cream  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  Com- 
plaint is  made  that  American  writers  do  not 
come  forward  with  their  information  until 
English  philatelists  have  treated  on  subjects 
respecting  which  their  American  brethren 
are,  or  profess  to  be,  an  fait ;  but  we  do  not 
think  too  much  should  be  made  of  this  cir- 
cumstance. Our  United  States  friends,  like 
many  other  people,  are  not  aware  of  the 
extent  of  their  own  knowledge  until  they 
meet  with  statements  which  they  find  it  to  be 
in  their  power  to  correct;  but  they  ought  to 
bj  grateful  to  English  writers  for  amicably 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


131 


stirring  them  up  ;  whilst  the  latter  should 
rejoice  to  find  that  their  painstaking  attempts 
to  elucidate  doubtful  points,  attain  the  de- 
sired end  of  eliciting  further  information. 
As  to  the  question  of  the  Petersburg  stamp, 
it  is  a  very  pretty  quarrel  as  it  stands 
between  Mr.  Pemberton  and  Mr.  Coster, 
and  a  fair  field  and  no  favour  is  all  that 
the  disputants  require  to  bring  it  to  a  satis- 
factory conclusion. 

After  the  list  of  new  issues  comes  the 
"  Black  List,"  in  which  figures  a  specimen 
of  the  forged  Prince  Edward  Island  4  cents, 
alluded  to  elsewhere  in  this  number ;  and  to 
that  succeeds  an  article,  by  Mr.  W.  Vipond, 
on  "Franks,  Post  and  Cancelling  Marks," 
which,  without  pretending  to  the  character  of 
a  complete  list,  promises  to  be  both  interest- 
ing and  instructive.  Among  other  curious 
marks  is  an  illustration  of  the  handstamp 
struck  on  franked  letters  before  the  intro- 
duction of  cheap  postage.  It  consists  of  a 
plain  circle,  with  a  roughly  outlined  crown 
at  the  top,  and,  within,  the  word  free  in  block 
capitals,  followed  by  the  date  in  two  lines. 
No  one,  we  believe,  has  yet  noticed  the  cu- 
rious postmark  lately  adopted  in  the  London 
post-office  for  printed  matter.  It  consists  of 
what  we  may  term  four  thick  lines,  with  fan- 
shaped  outer  extremities,  and  in  the  angles 
the  three  letters,  N.  P.  B.,  signifying,  we  pre- 
sume, Newspaper  Branch.  The  figure  5  in  the 
upper  compartment  we  cannot  explain.  This 
mark  completely  cancels  the  stamp  to  which 
it  is  applied. 

In  the  "  Reviews  of  Philatelical  Publica- 
tions "  is  quoted  the  programme  of  a  phila- 
telical congress  and  ball,  copied  from  the 
Allgemeiner  Brief m  arizen-  An zeiger ;  and  as  it  is 
such  an  entire  novelty,  we  in  turn  borrow  it 
from  the  pages  of  our  Birmingham  contem- 
porary. 

PHILATELICAL  CONGRESS. 

In  Liibeck, 

Ox  Sunday,  the  14th  July,  1872. 

Order  of  the  Bay. 

Assembly  of  visitors  in  Liibeck  :  7  o'clock  and  after. 
General  entertainment  ;  and  breakfast  in  the  local 
Exchange  Hall,  by  the  widow  Liidemann,  until 

10.30  a.m. 
Discussion  as  to  the  spreading  of  philatelical  knowledge, 
&c,  &c. 


12.30. 
End  of  the  discussion,  and  dinner  ;  some  in  the  Excbange 
Hall,   and    others    in    the    private    houses    of   Liibeck 
amateurs. 

1.30. 
Meeting  on  board  the  steam-boat,    "Martha;"  during 
the  trip,  music  by  the  76th  Fusiliers'  band. 

2.30. 
Landing  of  the  visitors. 

3  o'clock. 
Concert. 

5  o'clock. 
Supper. 

8.30  p.m. 
Commencement  of  the  ball,  to  be  kept  up  till  morning. 
Among  other  music  will  be  played  the  new  Hamburger 
Brief  mar ken-  Burse    Waltz,    and  the  Bopplcr'  sche  und 
Hamm'sche  Brief 'mar ken- Polka. 

loth  July,  7  a.m. 

Departure  of  the  visitors  to  catch  the  train  reaching 
Hamburg  at  9  o'clock. 

With  the  help  of  the  fair  sex,  says  The  Ph. 
Journal,  the  philatelical  ball  proved  by  its 
attractive  power  that  some  attraction  can  be 
derived  from  our  science.  To  report  the 
proceedings  in  appropriate  terms,  it  should  be 
said  that  they  created  an  impression  which 
will  not  be  easily  obliterated  from  the  minds 
of  those  present ;  let  us  hope  that  stamps  on 
the  toes  formed  no  part  of  the  entertain- 
ment. 

A  long  piece  of  rhyme  follows  the  reviews, 
dedicated  "  To  our  Poster-brother,  Gentle 
James."  The  writer,  certainly  not  without 
reason,  invokes  "Apollo's  aid  to  harmonise 
his  numbers  ;  "  but  his  appeal,  to  judge  by 
the  frequently  halting  rhyme,  seems  not  to 
have  been  favourably  heard.  The  poem,  if  we 
may  so  term  it,  is  a  mistake  from  beginning 
to  end,  for  it  is  pretty  certain  that  the  readers 
of  the  Phil.  Journal  will  hardly  care  for  such 
a  piece  of  personality.  If  Mr.  Foster,  the 
person  referred  to,  is  what  the  poet  hints  at 
his  being,  then  he  is  decidedly  unworthy  of 
two  columns  of  print  in  such  a  journal  as  the 
Philatelical,  and  in  any  case  his  character  and 
doings  have  no  public  interest  whatever. 
The  shower  of  sarcasms  which  the  rhymes 
contain  might  read  well  in  a  private  letter,  but 
the  "  poem  "  as  it  stands,  forming  part  of  the 
contents  of  The  Philatelical  Journal,  exactly 
answers  to  Lord  Palmerston's  well-known 
definition  of  dirt — matter  in  the  wrong 
place. 


132 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


BRITISH   PACKET   AGENCIES. 

BY  REV.  ROBERT  B.  EAKEE. 
REPRINTED  FROM  "THE  PHILATELICAL  JOURNAL." 

In  my  search  for  information  concerning 
La  Guaira  and  its  stamps,  for  my  article  of 
last  month,  I  came  across  a  few  facts  con- 
cerning our  foreign  postal  arrangements, 
which  I  thought  might  be  interesting  to  the 
readers  of  this  journal ;  and  though,  as  I 
have  said,  my  facts  are  few,  yet  they  are 
facts,  and  have  come  to  me  from  direct 
official  sources.  I  am  aware  that  officials, 
as  a  rule,  thongh  very  positive  in  their 
statements,  are  not  always  very  correct  in 
them.  For  instance,  I  have  heard  of  officials, 
on  being  asked  for  information  concerning 
certain  stamps,  assuring  their  correspondents 
that  the  said  stamps  had  no  existence,  save 
in  their  correspondents'  too  fertile  imagina- 
tion, and,  at  the  same  time,  prepaying  their 
reply  with  half-a-dozen  or  so  of  the  very 
stamps  in  question  !  But  the  information  of 
which  I  speak  is  from  intelligent  officials,  and 
may  be  relied  upon.  Till  quite  lately,  T  had 
a  very  vague  idea  as  to  the  meaning  of  the 
words  which  form  the  title  of  this  article ; 
and,  as  some  of  my  philatelic  friends  may 
possibly  be  in  a  similar  predicament,  I  will 
endeavour  to  enlighten  them  as  far  as  I  can. 
In  the  first  place,  a  British  packet  agency 
may  be  said  to  be  an  English  local  post- 
office  in  a  foreign  country,  and  the  agent 
himself  to  be  the  local  postmaster.  An 
official  of  this  sort  is,  of  course,  not  required 
in  countries  with  which  we  have  a  postal 
convention  (such  as  France,  Germany,  the 
United  States,  &c.) ;  for  by  these  conven- 
tions we  guarantee  that  their  correspondence, 
&c,  shall  be  taken  care  of^  and  delivered  free 
of  charge  ;  and  the  foreign  governments,  in 
like  manner,  make  themselves  responsible 
fjr  our  letters.  But  in  the  case  of  irrespon- 
sible governments, — here  to-day,  and  gone 
to-morrow,  where  the  king  (president,  ruler, 
chief,  call  him  what  you  will),  may  be: 
crowned  one  day,  and  assassinated  and 
buried  the  next, — a  convention  would  be  of 
no  use  ;  and  then  comes  the  necessity  for  the 
British  packet  agents.  These  gentlemen 
are  stationed  by  the  English  government  at 
all  the  ports  where  letters  from  England  are 


landed,  in  those  countries  which  have  no 
convention  with  us  ;  and  they  take  charge  of 
the  letters,  and  distribute  or  forward  them 
as  the  case  may  be.*  They  take  charge,  in 
like  manner,  of  the  letters  which  are  to  be 
sent  to  England  ;  and  if  the  sender  wish  to 
prepay  his  missives,  in  order  that  the  ad- 
dressee here  may  receive  them  post-free,  the 
agent  will  sell  him  English  stamps  for  that 
purpose. 

I  suppose  I  need  scarcely  acquaint  my 
readers  that  no  country,  unless  it  has  a  con- 
vention with  our  government,  can  frank  its 
letters  to  England.  For  instance,  if  a  man 
who  is  living  in  the  interior  of  Brazil  send 
a  letter  here,  the  stamps  on  that  letter  will 
frank  it  to  the  sea-port  from  whence  it  will 
be  despatched,  and  no  farther.  If  he  were  to 
amuse  himself  by  covering  both  front  and 
back  of  the  envelope  with  stamps,  the  result 
would  be  still  the  same,  and  the  delighted 
recipient  would  be  obliged  to  disburse  coin, 
to  the  amount  of  a  shilling,  or  even  more, 
before  he  could  obtain  possession  of  his 
letter.  I  believe,  though,  that  letters  from 
these  "unconventional"  countries  (to  use 
the  word  in  a  new  sense)  are  not  charged 
double  postage  if  the  sender  omits  to  prepay 
them, — so  there  is  no  very  great  hardship 
after  all.  Indeed,  it  would  not  be  at  all  fair 
to  charge  double  for  them  ;  for  how  is  my 
supposititious  man  in  the  interior  of  Brazil 
to  get  English  stamps,  when  the  nearest 
agent  lives,  perhaps,  hundreds  of  miles  from 
him  ?  He  must  content  himself  with  pre- 
paying his  letter  as  far  as  the  port;  and 
there  the  Brazilian  government  washes  its 
hands  of  all  responsibility.  The  letter  then 
becomes  the  property  of  her  Majesty's  Post- 
master-General, and  our  agent  receives  and 
forwards  it  by  the  next  mail-steamer. 

In  many  places  the  consul  is  the  packet 
agent,  especially  where  there  is  not  much  cor- 
respondence. In  Fiji,  for  instance,  this  is  the 
case.  Our  worthy  old  friend,  The  Stamp- 
Collector's  Magazim;  in  this  month's  issue, 
asks  why  the  English  Consul  at  Fiji  super- 

*  [The  writer  of  this  interesting  paper  has  since  recog- 
nised that  he  was  inaccurate  in  stating  that  the  agent 
distributed  the  letters  for  South  America  received  by 
him,  the  lact  being  that  he  simply  forwards  them  to  the 
post-office  of  the  town  where  he  resides,  after  which  his 
responsibility  cjases. — Eb.   6'.  C.  i/.] 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


133 


intended  the  issue  of  stamps  for  that  lively 
group  of  islands ;  but,  seeing  that  he  is 
postmaster  for  England,  as  well  as  consul,  it 
seems  to  me  that  it  was  only  a  part  of  his 
duty  to  look  after  the  postage  stamps  ;  espe- 
cially when  we  remember  that  the  Fiji  stamps 
certainly  frank  letters  to  our  colony  of  Aus- 
tralia, and  very  probably  (though  I  do  not 
know  this  for  a  fact)  to  England  itself. 

In  some  places  our  packet  agents  "  have 
a  good  time  of  it,"  as  our  transatlantic 
brethren  would  say  ;  but  their  agencies  are 
not  all  "  sugar."  My  official  friend  says,  "  I 
opened  a  mail  from  Cobija  the  other  day, 
and  found  a  very  touching  sentence  written 
in  the  corner  of  the  letter-bill,  by  the  packet 
agent's  chief  clerk,  announcing  that  the  un- 
fortunate agent  had  been  wrecked  from  his 
boat,  in  an  expedition  '  up  country,'  and 
devoured  by  alligators."  At  Arica,  too, 
about  a  couple  of  years  ago,  the  whole  of 
the  post-office,  packet  agent  and  all,  was 
swallowed  up  by  an  earthquake,  and  nothing, 
living  or  dead,  was  left  to  tell  the  tale ! 
And  besides  these  little  episodes,  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that,  in  most  of  these  out- 
of-the-way  places,  the  life  of  a  European  is 
pleasantly  varied  by  attacks  of  ague,  yellow 
fever,  &c,  not  forgetting  the  mosquitoes ; 
which  last,  though  small,  are  decidedly 
energetic  and  sharp  (especially  as  to  their 
trunks),  and  might  have  been  upheld  by 
Dr.  "Watts,  instead  of  the  "busy  bee,"  as 
examples  of  industry  and  perseverance  under 
trying  circumstances.  In  one  thing  the 
British  packet  agents  have  less  trouble 
than  their  confreres,  the  home  officials :  I 
mean  with  regard  to  unpaid  letters.  It  is 
not  generally  known  that  unpaid  letters,  or 
insufficiently  prepaid  letters,  for  Mexico, 
Haiti,  and  other  places,  which  have  no 
convention  with  us,  are  not  forwarded  at  all, 
but  are  sent  on  to  the  Dead  Letter  Office, 
opened,  and  returned  to  the  sender;  and, 
therefore,  it  is  evident  that  all  anxiety  and 
responsibility  on  this  score,  rest  with  the 
home  officials,  and  not  with  the  packet 
agents.  If  those  poor  agents  lived  in  more 
civilised  places,  we  might  expect  that  the 
English  government  would  send  out  the  un- 
paid letters  as  well  as  the  others,  and  look  to 
the  agents  for  the  collection  of  the  charges  ; 


but,  as  it  is,  that  burden  is  not  laid  upon 
them  yet.  I  have  spoken  of  Haiti  and 
Mexico — fancy  what  the  agent  has  to  con- 
tend with  there !  In  Haiti,  he  has  to  do 
with  (vulgarly  speaking)  a  lot  of  naked 
niggers ;  and  in  Mexico  he  has  to  live 
amongst  a  set  of  people  who  are  a  little  bit 
nigger,  a  little  bit  Indian,  a  little  bit 
Spanish,  and  not  a  little  bit  rogues,  thieves, 
and  vagabonds  !  .  And  as  the  agents  would 
never  be  able  to  get  the  angelic  creatures 
who  inhabit  those  favoured  climes  to  pay  the 
postage  on  unpaid  letters,  we  never  trouble 
them  with  any. 

I  have  been  unable,  as  yet,  to  obtain  a  list 
of  the  places  which  boast  of  the  luxury  of 
a  packet  agent,  but  I  fancy  that  the  number 
of  officials  located  by  our  government  in 
"foreign  parts,"  is  much  greater  than  is 
generally  supposed  by  the  uninitiated  public. 
We  have  no  convention  with  any  of  the 
numerous  states  and  republics  of  South 
America  (even  Brazil,  large  and  important 
as  it  is,  is  incluled  in  this  statement),  and 
therefore,  all  over  South  America,  our 
packet  agents  will  be  found  scattered  toler- 
ably thickly.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
Hawaiian  and  Fiji  Islands,  of  various  places 
on  the  coast  of  Africa,  &c,  &c.  With  regard 
to  Fiji,  is  it  possible  that  this  emission  of 
stamps,  inspected  as  it  was  by  our  consul 
(and  packet  agent),  points  to  an  intended 
future  annexation  of  the  said  islands  by  our 
government  ?     It  may  be  ; — "  qulen  sabe." 

One  word  concerning  our  colonies.  In 
saying  that  the  stamps  of  very  many  coun- 
tries will  not  frank  letters  to  England,  our 
foreign  possessions  are  always  excepted  ; 
for  their  stamps  are  always  able  to  do  this, 
and  to  cause  the  letters  which  bear  them  to 
be  delivered  free  of  charge  here. 

I  think  I  have  said  quite  as  much  as  I 
need,  or  as  my  readers  desire,  though  I  must 
acknowledge  that  I  have  not  said  as  much 
as  I  could  say.  I  will  only  add  that  packet 
agents  are  not  over  paid  by  any  means, — 
that  they  have  plenty  of  work  to  do  for  their 
money, — that  they  are,  in  many  places, 
entirely  cut  off  from  intercourse  with  white 
men  for  long  periods, — that  the  climate  is 
almost  always  unhealthy  where  they  are 
stationed, — and     that    they    generally    get 


134 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


heartily  sick  very  soon,  and  too  often  come 
home  invalided  for  life.  These  are  cheerful 
statements,  bat  1  do  not  think  I  have  co- 
loured my  facts  too  highly;  and  I  fancy 
that  my  readers  will  agree  with  me  that,  all 
things  considered,  to  stay  quietly  at  home  in 
England  is  decidedly  preferable  to  being  a 
British  packet  agent. 

[As  a  supplement  to  the  foregoing  we  may 
add  the  following  particulars  respecting  the 
British  packet  agency  at  Valparaiso,  given  in 
a  letter  to  The  Philatelical  Journal  by  our 
friend  Mr.  L.  W.  Meyer:  — 

"  On  the  arrival  of  any  steamer  bringing 
British  mails,  all  that  is  expected  of  the  agent 
is,  that  he  be  in  readiness  to  open  the  mails 
when  they  are  delivered  at  the  Chilian  post- 
office.  Though  what  follows  in  this  and  the 
next  two  paragraphs  is  somewhat  of  a  digres- 
sion, I  think  it  as  well  to  mention  it  here. 
The  correspondence  is  brought  on  shore, 
either  by  the  P.  S.  N.  Co.,  or  else  by  the  cap- 
tain of  the  port.  In  the  latter  case  the  mails 
are  carried  to  the  post-office  by  the  boat's 
crew ;  but  if,  as  is  more  commonly  the  case, 
the  steamer  sends  the  bags  ashore,  a  curious 
scene  ensues,  which  I  know  has  aroused 
the  anger  of  more  than  one  newly-imported 
Briton  who  has  happened  to  be  a  witness 
thereof.  The  sight  of  the  boat  approaching 
the  shore  is  the  signal  for  the  band  of  loafers 
and  idlers  (which  is  always  to  be  found  on 
the  mole)  to  rush,  w7ith  one  accord,  to  the 
landing,  there  to  await  the  arrival  of  the 
mails.  No  sooner  has  the  boat  fairly  touched 
land,  than,  without  order  or  permission,  the 
ruffians  make  a  dash  at  the  royal  mails,  and 
in  a  twinkling  each  bag  has  a  bearer.  When 
it  is  known  that  there  are  no  more  bags  in 
the  boat,  there  begins  a  regular  scrimmage 
between  the  successful  and  unsuccessful  can- 
didates for  mail  carrying.  During  the  con- 
flict (which  is,  however,  of  short  duration, 
the  mole  being  very  near  the  post-office)  the 
bags  change  shoulders,  or  are  thrown  on  the 
ground,  and  are  immediately  pounced  upon 
by  some  one  who  has  been  watching  his  op- 
portunity. This,  be  it  borne  in  mind,  takes 
place  within  two  or  three  feet  of  the  water's 
edge  ;  that  no  bag  has  yet  been  thrown  into 
the  sea  is  really  wonderful. 

"  The  mails  are  delivered  free  of  charge  at 


the  post-office,  and  are  then  made  over  by 
the  agent  to  the  postmaster,  when  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  former  ceases. 

"  The  letters  are  then  weighed,  and  stamped 
with  some  figures  which  represent  the  charge 
for  delivery.  The  next  operation  is  to  place 
them  in  their  respective  "  boxes,"  where  they 
remain  till  they  are  claimed.*  For  this 
work  the  post-office  claims  the  following 
rates  :  viz.,  for  letters  up  to  J  oz.,  15  cents ; 
|  oz.,  25  cents  ;  1  oz.,  45  cents  ;  &c,  &c. 
Thus,  a  letter  sent  from  England  for  Is.  has 
often  to  pay  an  equivalent  sum  for  its  de- 
livery. In  the  case  of  "  samples  per  book 
post  "  the  charge  is  still  more  egregious  :  it 
is  no  less  than  45  cents  per  pound.  I  my- 
self have  had  to  pay  that  sum  for  a  parcel 
from  England,  prepaid  by  four  penny  stamps  ! 
The  large  commercial  houses  established  in 
this  place  have  often  to  pay  $30  or  $40  every 
time  a  mail  steamer  comes  in  (about  £20  per 
month)  for. the  simple  operation  of  placing 
the  letters  in  their  boxes.  If  delivered  out  of 
the  post  office  they  must  pay  5  cents  each. 
This  applies  to  all  letters,  save  those  posted 
in  the  town  itself."] 

STAMPS  FOR  THE  PHILIPPINES, 
ISSUED  IN  1847. 
Int  a  short  paper  in  the  current  number  of 
Le  Tlmbre-Poste  is  related  an  extraordinary 
discovery ;  nothing  less  than  a  series  of 
stamps  for  the  Philippines,  issued  in  1847, 
has  been  brought  to  light  by  the  enterprise 
of  a  correspondent  of  M.  Moens.  On  the 
14th  of  May,  1847,  so  he  states,  the  then 
postmaster-general  of  the  Philippines,  Don 
Antonio  Grutieriez  y  Pavia,  proposed  to  the 
home  government  to  issue  four  postage 
stamps  for  the  prepayment  of  the  island 
letters.  The  proposition  was  not  accepted, 
because  this  system  of  prepayment  had  not 
then  been  adopted  in  the  Peninsula.  The 
postmaster,  who  no  doubt  did  not  expect  to 
be  met  by  a  refusal,  had  already  put  the 
stamps  in  circulation,  and  they  were  used 
for  some  little  time  for  the  interinsular  cor- 
respondence of  Luzon  and  Manilla.  The 
stamps  are  square,  roughly  engraved,  and 
have  the  bust    of  Isabella  II.    in   a  frame, 

*  Mercantile  letters,  it  may  be  supposed,  have  not  long 
to  wait — there  is  always  some  one  waiting  for  tlum. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


135 


containing  in  its  npper  part  the  word  IN- 
teriok,  and  the  value  in  the  lower.  The  im- 
pression is  in  colour  on  white  laid  paper,  and 
unperforated. 

\  real  plata     green 

2     „        „        yellow 

4     „        „        blue 

1  peso  rose 

M.  Moens  adds  that  his  correspondent 
gives  him  to  expect  that  in  a  little  while  he 
will  be  able  to  send  him  the  four  stamps  in 
question,  and  if  so  they  will  at  once  be 
engraved.  Our  confrere  further  calls  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  postmaster's  pro- 
posal was  referred  to  by  M.  N.  Rondot  in 
the  Magasin  PUtoresque,  but  the  latter  omit- 
ted to  say  that  the  stamps  had  been  in  use. 
This  last  observation  constitutes  at  once 
our  greatest  reason  for  believing  in  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  stamps,  and  our  chief  cause 
for  being  sceptical  of  their  character.  M. 
Moens'  integrity  is  not  called  in  question, 
and  we  do  not  know  his  correspondent,  who 
may  be  describing  the  stamps  from  personal 
knowledge,  or  have  obtained  his  information 
from  the  best  of  sources ;  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  may  be  the  concoctor  or  the  victim  of 
a  swindle.  It  behoves  us  to  proceed  with 
caution  in, a  matter  like  the  present.  The 
fact  that  M.  1ST.  Rondot  was  aware  of  a 
proposition  having  been  made  by  the  Luzon 
postmaster,  favours  the  hypothesis  that 
stamps  were  really  issued  in  the  manner 
above  stated.  We,  unfortunately,  have  not 
M.  Rondot's  article  before  us,  and  therefore 
cannot  say  whether  his  allusion  was  couched 
in  general  terms,  or  was  explicit  as  to 'the 
date  of  the  postmaster's  letter,  and  the 
number  of  stamps  which  he  thereby  pro- 
posed to  issue.  In  any  case,  however, 
looking  at  the  suspicious  side  of  the 
affair,  there  is  no  improbability  in  the  sup- 
position, that  his  article  may  have  fallen 
under  the  notice  of  one  or  other  of  those 
ingenious  contrivers  of  stamps  whose  ma- 
chinations are  the  bane  of  unwary  collec- 
tors ;  and  in  that  case  the  fabrication  of  a 
likely-looking  series  would  be  very  easy. 
We  cannot  quite  suppress  our  surprise  that 
the  correspondent  who  had  such  precise 
information,  not  only  of  the  colours  and 
values  of  the  four  stamps,  but  also  of  the 


date  of  a  letter  written  by  the  postmaster  in 
1847,  should  have  been  unable  to  procure 
specimens  to  send  over  with  his  communica- 
tion. Surely  he  could  not  have  described 
the  designs  so  fully  without  getting  a  sight 
of  the  stamps  themselves,  and,  if  so,  to  obtain 
the  loan  of  them  was  but  a  step.  Does  not 
his  letter  appear  to  be  artfully  composed,  with 
a  view  to  facilitate  the  foisting  on  collectors 
of  a  spurious  emission  ?  Full  particulars  are 
first  given,  and  specimens  of  the  stamps  are 
to  follow,  when  the  ground  shall  have  been 
prepared.  Well,  we  shall  see  how  the  affair 
turns  out ;  meanwhile  we  are  only  doing  our 
duty  in  calling  attention  to  the  doubts  which 
are  almost  of  necessity  suggested  by  the 
announcement  of  M.  Moens'  correspondent, 
bearing  in  mind  the  great  difference  which 
exists  between  the  meaning  of  two  somewhat 
similar  words — discoveries  and  inventions. 


PENNY  EXPRESS  COMPANY  STA¥P. 

BY   CHARI/ES   H,    COSTER. 

This  stamp  was  first  noticed  in  The  Phila- 
ielical  Journal,  page  107  ;  but  beyond  such 
points  as  can  be  gathered 
from  the  fac-simile  therein 
given,  and  reproduced 
here,  no  information  can 
be  gathered  from  the  notice 
in  question. 

Through  the  kind  exer- 
tions of  a  western  corres- 
pondent, I  have  learned 
that  the  "  Penny  Express 
Company  "  stamp  was  issued  by  the  well- 
known  firm  of  Langton  &  Co., — the  same  firm 
that  ran  the  Humboldt  Express,  Langton's 
Pioneer  Express,  &c, — and  was  in  use, 
during  a  very  short  time  only,  in  Nevada 
territory.  Unfortunately,  I  have  not  been 
able  to  determine  its  date  of  issue. 

The  stamp  is  of  fine  execution,  and  is 
apparently  from  a  steel  die.  It  is  found 
printed  in  black  and  in  blue — both  on  white 
paper. 

The  accompanying  engraving  will  give  a 
very  fair  idea  of  the  general  design  ;  but  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  has  been  pur- 
posely altered  in  one  particular,  so  as  to 
render  counterfeiting  more  difficult. 


136 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


NEWLY-ISSUED   OR   INEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Russian  Locals — Pavlograd  (Ekaterinoslaw). 
— The  first  issued  stamp  for  this  district  is 
known  to  collectors  only  by  our  list,  in 
which  (by  an  evident  oversight)  neither  its 
colour  nor  its  value  is  noted.  No  specimen 
has  found  its  way  across  from  Russia,  and 
now  the  chance  of  our  making  closer  acquaint- 
ance with  its  design  is  diminished  by  its 
withdrawal  from  circulation.  The  descrip- 
tion, which  we  repeat  for  clearness  sake,  is 
as  follows  : — 

(1).     Arms  in  centre. 

(2).     Star  above  and  numeral  below  the  arras. 

(3).     Inscription  in  surrounding  oval  frame. 

(4) .     Roman  figure  of  value  in  angles  of  outer  octagonal 

frame  of  crossed  waved  lines. 
The  annexed  engraving  is  a  representation 
of  the  second  type,  which  has  just  been  is- 
sued. It  is  evidently  co- 
pied, in  its  general  outline, 
from  the  first  type.  The 
arms  and  the  inscription 
are  in  the  same  position, 
and  the  octagonal  outer 
frame,  with  ground  of 
crossed  waved  lines,  is  re- 
peated. The  points  of  dif- 
ference are  the  insertion  of  a  numeral  above 
the  arms,  in  place  of  the  star,  and  the  substi- 
tution of  Arabic  for  Roman  numerals  in  the 
angles.  The  colour  of  the  new  comer  is  a 
dark  dull  blue.  M.  Moens  says  that  there  is 
an  orthographical  fault  in  the  inscription, 
Madha  being  written  for  Mapka  ;  if  so  it  has 
not  been  repeated  in  the  engraving,  for  the 
latter  clearly  shows  Mapka. 

Perejaslav  (Poltava). — The  local  authori- 
ties in  the  Poltava  government  have  ap- 
parently no  strong- 
leanings  in  favour  of 
art,  to  judge  by  the 
annexed  design,  which 
is  common  to  the  dis- 
tricts of  Perejaslav  and 
Peerjatin,  subject  only 
to  the  change  of  name. 
Our  engraving  is  that 
of  Perejaslav ;  but 
"  Caesar  and  Pompey,"  it  appears,  are  so  much 
alike  that  it  might  stand  for  both  districts. 


The  stamp  is  printed  in  black  on  chamois ; 
value  3  kop.  The  Peerjatin  stamp,  which  has 
not  yet  come  over,  but  which  figures  in  our 
July  list,  is  of  the  same  value,  and  is  printed 
in  scarlet. 

Schluesselburg. — It  is  stated  that  the  rural 
post  for  this  district  has  long  since  ceased  to 
exist,  and  the  green  5  kop.  stamp  is,  conse- 
quently, no  longer  to  be  had. 

A  letter  published  in  The  American  Journal 
of  Philately  gives  the  correct  orthography  of 
several  local-issuing  districts.  Thus  Schopeen 
becomes  Shop in ;  Kolomna,  Kolomna;  Boro- 
vitchi,  Boroiuitschi ;  and  Bronnitzi,  Brounitzi. 
We  fear  it  will  be  no  easy  matter  to  obtain 
the  correct  spelling  of  the  names  of  all  the 
different  districts. 

Great  Britain. — The  handsome  three- 
halfpenny  envelope  design,  after  remaining 
ten  years  an  essay,  has  at  length  made  its 
appearance  as  a  stamp  for 
public  use,  though  its 
circulation  will,  unfortu- 
nately, be  but  limited,  as 
it  can  only  be  obtained  by 
ordering  direct,  and  in 
quantities,  from  Somerset 
House.  The  impressions 
are  from  the  original  die, 
but  in  pale  rose-pink, 
which  is  not  so  effective  a  tint  as  that  of  the 
old  essay.  The  Philatelist  describes  the  shape 
of  the  envelopes  it  had  received,  and  also  the 
device  on  the  flap;  but  these  details  are,  in  the 
present  instance,  valueless,  since  the  stamps 
are  struck  at  Somerset  House  on  envelopes 
furnished  by  the  applicants,  and  each  batch 
may  be  on  different-sized  envelopes.  Our 
contemporary  says  that  on  making  inquiries 
many  months  since  as  to  the  likelihood  of  an 
emission  of  three-halfpenny  envelopes,  he  was 
given  to  understand  that  the  die  had  been 
mislaid  or  destroyed,  and  he  conjectures  it 
must  since  have  turned  up.  We  incline  to 
think  that  so  useful  a  value  must  ere  long  be 
issued  for  general  use,  like  the  penny  enve- 
lope. 

New  Granada — Cundinamarca. — In  the 
discovery  of  the  stamps  of  the  sovereign 
states  of  the  Colombian  republic,  it  seems  to 
be  the  rule  that  the  last  should  come  first  and 
the  first  last.     Thus  it  happens  that  the  two 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


137 


primitive  designs  here  figured  have  only  just 
turned  up,  and  they  are  stated  to  have  been 
in  use  four  months  before  the  issue  already 
known  made  its  appearance. 

The  illustrations  here  given — which  have 
been  courteously  lent  by  the  proprietors  of 


•> 


COftREOS 


10 

DfNAMARCA 


I 

_$ 


The  Philatelist — are  not  copied  from  the 
stamps  themselves,  and  it  is  not  pretended 
that  they  are  more  than  "approximate 
portraits  "  from  tracings  of  the  same  ;  they 
are,  however,  sufficiently  accurate  to  show 
the  general  design.  They  are  printed  in 
black  on  colour ;  the  5  c.  on  greenish  blue, 
and  the  10  c.  on  pink.  Dr.  Magnus,  in  his 
new  journal,  expresses  his  doubts  of  their  au- 
thenticity. 

Livonia. — We  have  received  a  stamp  pur- 
porting to  be  issued  for  Livonia,  of  which  we 
will  give  an  illustration  in  our  next  number. 
The  central  device  consists  of  a  mailed  arm 
grasping  a  sword,  and  springing  from  what 
may  be  a  rock.     This  is  in  an  oval,  inscribed 

BRIEFMARKE     WENDENSCHEN     KREISES    in    white 

letters,  and  the  oval  itself  has  a  broad  white 
exterior  rim.  The  rest  of  the  stamp  is  filled 
with  a  ground  pattern  of  horizontal  pearls 
and  lines,  the  four  angles  tearing  a  small 
white  star.  The  stamp  is  printed  in  two 
colours,  deep  green  and  scarlet.  The  oval  is 
green,  as  is  also  the  outline  of  the  arm ;  the 
solid  ground  of  the  centre  and  all  the  design 
outside  the  oval  is  in  scarlet.  It  is  printed 
on  white  paper,  gummed,  and  perf.  14.  We 
have  no  information  of  its  value,  and  are 
rather  puzzled  at  the  change  in  the  armorial 
device  of  the  province.  On  the  older  stamp 
is  figured  a  griffin  rampant. 

Philippines. — The  concluding  number  of 
the  defunct  Timbrophile,  contains  the  follow- 
ing account  of  a  new7ly-discovered  stamp, 
value  3  cents.  A  correspondent  sends  us  a 
rather  curious  stamp  not  hitherto  noticed,  of 


which  we  give  the  description.  It  is  a  blue 
3  cuartos.  Above  it  is  inscribed  correos 
1854-55,  below  franco  3  cos-  In  the  centre, 
effigy  to  the  right  in  a  pearled  oval,  inter- 
rupted above  and  below,  hence  25  pearls  on 
the  right,  24  on  the  left.  It  is  a  copy  of  the 
1853  Spanish  type,  and  bears  the  "  gridiron  " 
obliteration  common  to  Cuba  and  Luzon. 
The  impression  was  made  by  means  of  an 
engraving  lithographically  transferred.  The 
colour  is  a  greenish  blue.  "We  think  that  it 
is  but  another  essay,  and  not  a  stamp  which 
has  seen  service.  Still,  it  is  as  well  to  put 
this  stamp  by  the  side  of  the  lithographed 
5  c.  of  1853-4  (which  was  not  known  until 
1865),  and  the  10  c.  of  the  same  type  (men- 
tioned by  M.  N.  Rondot,  which  no  one 
else  has  met  with  up  to  the  present  time),  and 
nothing  would  surprise  us  less  than  the  dis- 
covery that  this  stamp  is  a  "find,"  like  the 
27  paras  of  Moldavia  and  others. 

French  Colonies. — We  owe  to  the  new 
Parisian  journal,  La  Gazette  ties  Timbres,  the 
intelligence  that  the  eagle  series  for  colonial 
use  was  suppressed  some  time  since,  and 
unperforated  supplies  of  the  home  stamps 
sent  out,  composed  of  the  following  values  : 

Empire, 


Republic, 


Our  contemporary  does  not  say  whether 
the  stamps  of  the  republic  are  of  the  litho- 
graphed or  the  engraved  type ;  but  as  the 
copies  we  have  seen  are  engraved,  inexpe- 
rienced collectors  must  take  care  not  to 
confound  them  with  the  1848  issues.  It  is 
stated  that  the  above  stamps  were  first  re- 
ceived back  on  colonial  letters  on  the  25th  of 
December  last. 

Guadalajara. — The  same  journal  publishes 
a  letter  from  its  contributor  Mons.  "  Albis," 
in  which  the  latter  states  that  he  has  just 
heard  from  Mexico  that  the  provisional 
Guadalajara  were  at  first  employed  without 
the  authority  of  the  president  of  the  republic, 
Don  Juarez,  who  commenced  an  action,  and 
obtained  a  judgment,  in  the  supreme  court  of 


5  c. 

unlaureated. 

1„ 

laureated. 

30  „ 
80  „ 
10  „ 

35 

bistre. 

20  „ 

blue. 

40  „ 

orange. 

138 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


Our  Birmingham  con- 


Mexico  against  the  then  postmaster,  Don 
Guadaloupe  Montenegro,  for  having  had  the 
stamps  struck  without  permission 

German  Empire 
temporary  has  received  from  a  correspondent 
two  imperforated  copies  of  the  5  groschen 
stamps,  of  the  small  eagle  type,  issued  in 
January,  postmarked  Leutersclorf  Jan.  16, 
which  probably  came  from  a  sheet  acci- 
dentally sent  out  unperforated  by  the  Berlin 
authorities. 

Prince  Edward  Island. — Our  last-quoted 
confrere  has  received  from  the  postmaster  of 
the  island  specimens  of  all  the  values  in  use 
at  the  end  of  last  month,  and  there  being  no 
10  cents  amongst  them,  he  argues  that  that 
value  does  not  exist,  ergo,  M.  Moens,  who 
gave  an  engraving  of  what  we  must  now  sup- 
pose to  be  an  imposture,  has  been  victimised. 
The  Philatelical  Journal  also  sfates  that  the 
stock  of  the  obsolete  penny  is  being  utilised, 
the  stamps  being  surcharged  2  cents. 

Japan. — The  American  Journal  of  Philately 
gives  the  following  as  the  values  of  the  new 
perforated  set  : 

1^  tenpoes  brown. 

2         „  blue. 

8  ,,  vermilion. 

1\       „  green. 

They  are  printed  in  sheets  of  forty. 

Argentine  Republic. — It  is  stated  in  Le 
Timbre-Poste  that  the  current  5  c.  has  been 
temporarily  replaced  by  the  same  value  of 
the  1864  type. 

Sweden. — It  is  said  that  the  series  will  be 
completed  by  the  issue  of  two  more  values — 
the  9  and  17  ore. 


FORGERY  OF  THE  NEW  4  c.  GREEN- 
PRINCE   EDWARD   ISLAND. 

We  have  to  warn  all  our  readers — more  ex- 
perienced collectors,  equally  with  beginners 
— against  a  most  dangerous  forgery  of  the 
above-mentioned  stamp,  in  which  the  de- 
sign, in  all  its  principal  points,  is  most  care- 
fully imitated,  and  there  is  so  slight  a  differ- 
ence in  shade  as  to  render  comparison  with 
a  genuine  stamp  necessary  for  detection. 
The  most  noticeable  points  of  variation  be- 
tween the  forgery  and  the  genuine  stamp 
are  as  follows  : — 


GENUINE. 
The  crown  of  the  head 
of  the  portrait  does 
not  touch,  the  frame. 
There  is  a  plainly  vi- 
sible space  between  it 
and  the  frame,  along 
the  whole  length. 


2. — The  square  disks  in 
the  lower  angles,  con- 
taining the  figure  4, 
are  a  trifle  higher  than 
the  band  running  be- 
tween them,  inscribed 
with  the  value. 

3. — There  is  a  clear  space 
between  the  letter  o  in 
the  word  postage,  on 
the  first  line  of  the  in- 
scription, and  the  let- 
ter e  of  prince  in  the 
second  line. 

4. — There  is  a  vertical  line 
of  fine  dots  outside  the 
exterior  row  of  fins 
horizontal  lines  which 
forms  part  of  the 
ground  on  the  right- 
hand  side.  In  other 
words,  each  one  of  these 
horizontal  lines  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  dot. 


FORGED. 

-The  crown  of  the  head 
touches  the  frame 
along  a  certain  dis- 
tance, and  in  a  direct 
line  under  the  letters 
dw  of  the  word  ed- 
ward  in  the  inscrip- 
tion in  the  upper  mar- 
gin. 

-The  square  disks  in 
the  lower  angles,  con- 
taining the  figure  4, 
do   not  project   above 

'  the  intervening  band, 
inscribed  with  the  va- 
lue. 

-The  letter  o  in  the 
word  postage,  in  the 
first  line  of  the  incrip- 
tion,  touches  the  letter 
e  of  prince  on  the 
second  line. 

-The  line  of  dots,  refer- 
red to  on  the  other 
side,  is  absent. 


We  could  go  on  multiplying  the  distinctive 
characteristics,  but  we  have  been  careful  to 
mention  only  those  positive  differences 
whereby  the  forgery  can  be  at  once  detected 
by  itself,  without  the  necessity  for  comparison 
with  a  genuine  specimen. 

These  dangerous  counterfeits  are  also  sold 
obliterated,  and  the  false  postmarks  have 
not  been  applied — as  is  usually  the  case  with 
forgeries — in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  the 
best  part  of  the  stamp  clean,  but  are  struck 
over  the  stamps  with  apparently  official 
carelessness,  and  thus  are  all  the  more  de- 
ceptive. The  genuine  cancelling  mark  con- 
sists of  a  transverse  oval,  formed  of  ten 
horizontal  bars,  of  which  the  top  and  bottom 
ones  are  curved,  so  as  to  complete  the  oval. 
The  forged  mark  consists  of  an  irregularly 
shaped  transverse  oblong,  formed  of  two 
horizontal  lines  of  long,  and  three  of  short 
unshapen  patches.  They  are  sold  three  or 
four  together,  stuck  on  paper,  and  have 
every  appearance  of  having  been  cut  from 
an  envelope.  The  unused  forgeries  are  sold 
in  sheets  of  100,  at  fourpence  each  specimen. 

We  are  glad  to  learn,  from  our  Birming- 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


139 


Lam  contemporary,  that  the  matter  has  been 
communicated  to  the  proper  authorities,  and 
that  the  home  agents  of  the  colonial  post- 
office  have  been  instructed  to  take  such 
action  in  the  case  as  will  bring  the  offenders 
to  justice.  We  shall  rejoice  if  they  get  their 
deserts,  and  we  have  no  doubt  our  readers 
will  be  equally  glad  ;  meanwhile,  as  these 
spurious  wares  have  been  launched  into 
circulation,  it  will  be  well  to  take  every  pre- 
caution, to  prevent  their  being  imposed  on 
collectors. 

WHAT   IS   A  POSTAGE    STAMP? 

BY   OVEB.Y   TAYLOlt. 

This  question  suggested  itself  to  the  writer's 
mind  on  reading  the  following  paragraph  of 
the  article  explanatory  of  the  scope  of  Mr. 
Pemberton's  forthcoming  catalogue,  which 
appeared  in  a  recent  number  ofT/iti  Philaieli- 
cal  Journal. 

"We  confine  ourselves  strictly  to  stamps  which  prepay 
postage  and  that  are  sold  fo  the  public,  thus  totally 
ignoring  chiffres-taxe  and  such  like  rubbish  fur  unpaid 
and  returned  letters,  which  everyone  collects  because 
they  are  adhesive  usually,  and  tolerable-looking  occa- 
sionally. What  we  want  is  consistency,  and  not 
needlessly  to  multiply  species  in  face  of  the  outciy  raised 
by  those  who  object"  to  all  varieties.  And  let  us  ask, 
where  is  the  consistency  of  cataloguing  stamps  for  unpaid 
letters,  or  stamps  or  envelopes  for  letters  returned  to  the 
sender  ?  The  latter  are  the  more  sensible,  for  they  do 
carry  the  returned  letter  free.  Such  stamps  as  the 
Baden  Landpost,  Hanover  Bestellgeld-frei,  and  others, 
representing  an  extra  tax  or  fee  for  delivery,  we  certainly 
catalogue  as  quite  within  the  province  of  our  intentions. 

From  these  remarks,  which  break  fresh 
ground,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  answer  to 
the  inquiry — What  is  a  postage  stamp  ? — 
cannot  be  without  interest. 

The  fact  is,  that  collecting  in  its  infancy 
was  a  pursuit  conducted  in  such  an  utterly 
unscientific  way,  that  many  adhesives  then 
secured  recognition  as  postage  stamps,  which, 
if  a  code  of  rules  for  the  guidance  of  col- 
lectors were  now  being  laid  down,  would  be 
rigorously  excluded.  Anything  which  em- 
anated from  a  post-office,  or  was  in  the 
least  degree  connected  with  it,  was  seized  on 
with  an  indiscriminate  ardour,  and  incor- 
porated with  the  orthodox  emissions  of  a 
country.  This  weakness  for  things  postal 
was  fostered  by  the  early  catalogue  makers, 
and  is  still  but  too  frequently  manifested. 
Thus    it    has    often    occurred     that    some 


particular  impression  or  label  belonging  to 
a  previously  unrecognised  class,  and  possess- 
ing, perchance,  a  special  claim  to  notice,  has 
been  favourably  referred  to  by  one  or  other 
of  the  magazines,  and  the  attention  thus 
paid  to  it  has  led  to  a  demand,  by  the 
possessor  of  some  heterogeneous  collection, 
for  the  admission  of  the  whole  species,  on 
the  ground  that  they  all  do  the  same  duty. 
The  vague  uncertainty  thus  introduced,  and 
the  unrestrained  elasticity  of  construction 
which  results  from  it,  combine  to  show  that 
the  time  has  arrived  for  establishing  a  clear 
definition  of  the  term  postage  stamp. 

The  simplest  answer  to  the  query  which 
heads  these  remarks  i?,  that  a  postage  stamp 
is  a  stamp  that  paj7s  postage.  A  postage 
stamp,  in  other  words,  is  the  conventional 
sign  adopted  to  evidence  the  payment  of  a 
sum  of  money  to  secure  the  carriage  of  a 
letter  or  paper  by  the  post-office  to  a  given 
destination.  Understood  thus  as  an  evidence 
of  prepayment,  the  official,  returned  letter, 
and  unpaid  letter  labels  are  not  postage 
stamps. 

Let  us  take  first  the  official  stamps.  No 
payment  is  made  when  they  are  attached  to, 
or  struck  on  the  letters  which  bear  them. 
They  do  not  represent  postage,  but  exemption 
from  postage.  The  impressed  stamps  are  not 
obliterated.  They  are  hardly  more  than 
office  seals.  In  our  own  country,  they  serve 
to  show  from  what  department  a  letter 
emanates,  but  the  signature  which  accom- 
panies them  really  contains  the  franking 
power.  In  point  of  fact,  government  com- 
munications enjoy  the  privilege  of  being 
carried  free  of  any  charge  whatever ;  and  the 
marks  they  may  bear,  which  merely  indicate 
that  they  are  government  communications, 
cannot  be  considered  as  being,  in  any  sense 
of  the  word,  postage  stamps.  The  adhesives, 
such  as  the  Danish,  the  colonial  "  Service  " 
stamps,  &c,  when  we  come  to  look  the 
matter  fairly  in  the  face,  are  not  entitled  to 
more  consideration  than  the  handstamped 
impressions.  They  have  a  facial  value,  but, 
as  I  understand  it,  it  is  purely  nominal  and 
fictitious.  They  are  issued,  probably,  for 
the  purpose  of  checking  the  weight  and 
number  of  official  letters  and  documents 
sent  through  the  post,  and  perhaps  also  to 


140 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


prevent  the  abuse  of  the  franking  privilege 
by  the  government  employes,  who  might  be 
tempted  to  make  free  use  of  an  office  hand- 
stamp,  but  who  are  obliged  to  render  a  strict 
account  of  the  employment  of  the  adhesive 
labels  dealt  out  to  them.  Such  being  the 
case,  they  should  in  strictness  be  excluded  : 
that  they  are  likely  to  be  is  another  matter. 
The  handstamps  are  very  uninteresting 
objects  for  collection ;  and  although  the 
attempt  has  been  made  to  introduce  and 
classify  them  by  a  well-known  writer,  whose 
opinions  no  one  respects  more  than  I  do,  yet 
it  is  very  evident  that  they  will  never  be 
generally  accepted.  With  the  adhesives  it 
is  a  different  affair.  The  Spanish  official 
have  been  included  in  every  catalogue  and 
prepared  album  that  has  been  published. 
The  Danish  are  generally  admired,  and  the 
colonial  Service  stamps  have  found  a  place 
in  many  collections.  It  is,  perhaps,  too 
much  to  ask  philatelists  to  discard  these 
stamps  altogether,  but  ought  they  not  to  be 
kept  quite  apart  from  the  postage  stamps 
proper  ? 

Unpaid  Letter  Stamps. — Among  these 
are  numbered  the  French  chiffres-taxe,  the 
Italian  Segna-tasse,  &c,  &c.  Judged  literally 
by  the  standard  we  have  set  up  at  the  com- 
mencement, these  are  not  postage  stamps,  for 
so  far  from  being  evidences  of  prepayment, 
they  are  proofs  of  non-payment ;  and  most 
of  them  represent,  not  merely  the  postage  of 
the  letter  to  which  they  are  attached,  but  also 
a  fine  for  the  sender's  negligence.  But,  it 
may  be  urged,  in  arrest  of  judgment,  they 
are  put  on  in  the  post-office,  and  thus  consti- 
tute the  official  certificate  to  the  receiver 
that  the  letter-carrier  is  authorised  to  claim 
the  amount  which  is  "figured"  on  them. 
In  fact,  though  these  stamps  do  not  prepay, 
they,  nevertheless,  represent  the  postage;  and 
in  the  countries  in  which  they  are  in  use,  they 
form  the  conventional  sign  of  postage  due. 
They  are  the  admissible  corollary  of  postage 
stamps  proper ;  the  public,  when  it  wishes  to 
employ  the  services  of  the  post-office,  for  con- 
venience sake  puts  a  label  of  a  given  value  on 
a  letter,  and  the  office  is  then  bound  to  carry 
the  letter  ;  if  the  office  conveys  an  unpaid 
letter,  for  convenience  sake  it  puts  on  a 
label  representing  the  charge  for  carriage, 


and  the  receiver  is  obliged  to  pay  if  he  want 
his  letter.  It  may  be  paradoxically  put, 
that  although  you  cannot  buy  an  unpaid 
letter  stamp,  you  have  to  pay  for  it,  and 
payment  is  of  "the  essence  of  the  contract." 
For  these  reasons,  I  think  that  chiffre-taxe 
stamps  are  fairly  collectable  ;  and  Mr.  Pem- 
berton  himself  must  surely  modify  his 
decision  to  include  in  the  body  of  his  forth- 
coming catalogue  only  stamps  sold  to  the 
public,  unless  he  is  prepared  to  reject  the 
"unpaid  letter"  series  of  Turkey,  which  is 
used  for  correspondence  from  localities 
where  no  postal  agencies  have  as  yet  been 
established. 

Returned  Letter  Stamps  appear  to  me  to 
be  totally  unworthy  of  collection.  A  dis- 
tinction must  be  drawn  between  stamps 
which,  in  one  sense  or  another,  represent 
postage,  and  merely  postal  stamps,  such  as 
the  returned  letter  labels.  Their  apposition 
to  a  letter  gives  rise  to  no  payment  at  either 
end,  and  as  in  the  case  of  the  official  labels, 
they  in  reality  prove  only  exemption  from 
postage.  The  return  of  an  undelivered 
letter  is  a  piece  of  courtesy  on  the  part  of 
the  post-office,  unless,  indeed,  it  be  con- 
sidered that  the  ordinary  postage  stamp, 
attached  on  the  departure  of  the  letter,  not 
only  pays  the  carriage  to  destination,  but 
also  the  return  carriage  in  case  of  non- 
delivery. A  returned  letter  label  in  any 
case  is  a  thing  with  which  the  public  have 
nothing  whatever  to  do ;  it  simply  forms 
part  of  the  internal  organization  of  the  postal 
service.  We  have  no  more  need  to  concern 
ourselves  with  it,  than  we  have  to  pay 
attention  to  the  seals  wherewith  the  mail- 
bags  are  fastened  up  ;  and  the  assumed 
necessity  for  collecting  them,  has,  I  am 
inclined  to  believe,  been  felt  to  be  irksome 
by  many  philatelists. 

Registration  and  Too-late  Stamps. — How 
far  can  these  be  considered  collectable  ? 
They,  like  the  returned  letter  labels,  are' 
portions  of  the  internal  economy  of  the 
post-office.  In  this  country,  the  word 
registered  is  struck  on  the  letter  with  a 
handstamp,  and  the  payment  of  an  extra 
penny  stamp,  to  cover  the  fine  for  late  post- 
age is — in  London,  at  any  rate — indicated  by 
the  handstamp  L.  1  or  L.  2,  as  the  case  may 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


141 


be.  We  do  not  collect  these  handstruck 
impressions  ;  ought  we  to  collect  the  adhesive 
Victorian  "Registered"  and  "Too-late" 
labels,  the  Trinidad  "  Too  late,"  the  United 
States  "  Registered,"  &c.  ?  The  class  is  not 
a  numerous  one,  and,  of  the  two  kinds,  one 
represents  a  specially  guaranteed  mode  of 
transmission,  the  other  an  earlier  despatch. 
These  advantages  are  prepaid.  Shall  we 
then,  for  once,  be  inconsistent,  and,  whilst 
collecting  the  labels,  the  true  offshoot  of  the 
cheap  postal  system,  reject  the  uninteresting 
handstamped  words  ?  I  leave  it  to  my 
readers  to  answer. 

Newspaper  Impressed  Stamps.  —  These 
are  a  troublesome  class  of  stamps,  which 
have  occasionally  formed  the  subjects  of 
more  or  less  incomplete  lists,  and  whose 
claims  have  been  repeatedly  urged  by  the 
few — shall  we  say  happy? — possessors  of  col- 
lections of  them.  My  own  impression  is  that 
they  are  not  deserving  of  recognition.  They 
are  the  relics  of  an  obsolete  system.  They 
were  not  sold  to  the  public,  nor  struck  on 
the  papers  by  postal  officials.  They  were 
the  means  used  of  collecting  an  item  in  the 
Inland  Revenue,  and  they  lost  any  postal 
character  they  might  have  possessed  fifteen 
days  after  the  date  of  emission.  I  apprehend 
that  most  collectors  would  object  to  their 
being  raked  up  from  their  obscurity  and 
forced  on  them,  under  the  pretext  that 
they  were  postage  stamps. 

Permit  me,  in  conclusion,  to  invite  my 
readers'  serious  attention  to  the  subject,  for 
it  will  bear  consideration  ;  and  if  from  the 
discussion  some  general  rale,  acceptable 
to  the  majority,  can  be  established,  as  to  the 
classes  of  stamps  which  are  within,  and 
those  which  are  without  the  limits,  my  object 
in  drawing  attention  to  the  matter  will  have 
been  gained. 


How  Dr.  Magnus  became  a  Stamp  Collector.— 
Ten  years  ago  my  eldest  son,  then  an  urchin  nine  years 
of  age,  had  brought  home  from  school  a  score  of  ragged 
stamps — English,  Belgian,  Dutch,  German,  and  Italian — 
and  made  comical  efforts  to  classify  them.  A  few  Spanish 
and  French  republic  stamps,  which  we  hunted  up  from 
our  letters,  set  the  seal  on  the  partnership — Magnus, 
father  and  son— and  all  our  endeavours  tended  to  swell 
the  number  of  stamps  which  tilled  the  album  Later  on, 
the  well-known  fickleness  of  children  left  me  alone  at  the 
head  of  the  collection.  It  was  from  that  day  that  I 
seriously  pursued  the  study.—  La  Gazette  cles  Timbres. 


THE   FIJI  ISLANDS   IN   SEARCH  OF 
A   PROTECTOR. 

There  is  something  almost  touching  in  the 
friendless  position  of  the  Fiji  Islands  at  the 
present  time.  They  have  been  hawked 
about  most  persistently  from  one  great 
power  to  another,  and  the  answer  to  each 
and  every  application  has  been  in  effect, 
"No  child  of  mine."  England  treated  the 
idea  of  a  protectorate  with  scorn ;  America 
calculated  that  she  had  enough  to  do  with 
her  own  Indians ;  the  Australian  colonies, 
which  are  deeply  interested  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  responsible  government  in  this 
particular  group,  are  quite  unable  to  do  any- 
thing except  to  recommend  Great  Britain  to 
"  annex  "  it ;  the  only  polite  answer  was 
obtained  from  Prince  Bismarck,  of  all  people 
in  the  world.  Nearly  eighteen  months  ago, 
in  reply  to  a  numerously  signed  petition, 
requesting  that  the  Fiji  Islands  should  be 
placed  under  the  Prussian  flag,  he  wrote  a 
civil  letter  with  his  own  hand  to  the  leading 
merchant  in  Fiji — a  North  German — and 
expressed  his  regret  that  the  state  of  affairs 
in  Europe  prevented  him  from  giving  atten- 
tion to  Fiji  just  then,  but  he  hinted  that  no 
long  time  might  elapse  ere  Prussia  would  be 
at  liberty  to  act  in  the  South  Seas. — Pall- 
Mall  Gazette. 

[In  our  own  parliament,  recently,  a  question  was  put 
to  the  government  as  to  its  intention  with  regard  to  the 
Fijian  administration,  and  its  reply  was  that  it  would 
recognise  as  de  facto  in  power  the  council  of  white  men  at 
Levuka  over  such  islands  as  its  sway  might  extend.— Ed.] 

REVIEWS  of  POSTAL  PUBLICATIONS. 

La  Gazette  dies  Timbres.     Paris:  Pierre  Mahe. 

The  apparition  of  this  journal  will  be 
heartily  welcomed  by  philatelists  of  every 
shade  of  opinion.  Its  publication  com- 
mences under  the  most  favourable  auspices. 
It  succeeds  the  well-known  Tnnbropliile, 
whose  prestige  it  inherits,  and  under  the 
direction  of  that  prince  of  philatelists — Dr. 
Magnus — its  success  is  certain. 

The  first  number  is  interesting,  not  so 
much  from  the  information  it  contains,  as 
for  the  programme  with  which  it  opens, 
entitled  "  Oar  Aim,"  and  written  in  that 
attractive  style  of  which  the  learned  editor 


142 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


is  so  peculiarly  master.  In  a  few  well- 
chosen  sentences  Dr.  Magnns  sketches  the 
rise  of  philately  and  the  publication  of  the 
first  magazines  in  England,  Belgium,  and 
Germany,  then  touches  on  the  issue  of  the 
first  French  journal,  Le  Collectionneur,  of 
M.  Maury,  which  owed  its  position  to  the 
carefully  written  articles  of  that  once  famous 
collector,  M.  Herpin,  and  fell  rapidly  away 
when  he  ceased  to  contribute.  The  career 
of  Le  Timbropliile  next  comes  under  notice, 
and  the  causes  which  interfered  with  its 
publication, — viz.,  the  war,  and  the  editor's 
numerous  occupations — are  briefly  dwelt  on  ; 
and  then,  in  natural  sequence,  follows  the 
explanation  of  the  aim  of  Le  Timbropldle's 
successor.  That  it  includes  the  publication 
of  instructive  articles  and  monographs  we 
need  hardly  say,  but  it  is  worthy  of  special 
notice  that  Dr.  Magnus  contemplates  writ- 
ing, under  the  title  of  "  The  Little  Gazette  " 
a  series  of  "  Papers  for  Beginners  "  similar 
in  character  and  intention  to  those  which  are 
being  published  in  these  pages.  We  are 
glad  to  see  the  utility  of  such  articles  thus 
emphatically  recognised,  and  we  shall  look 
forward  with  interest  to  the  promised  con- 
tributions. In  the  course  of  his  expose  the 
learned  editor  intimates  his  intention  of 
treating  of  fiscal  and  telegraph  stamps,  as 
well  as  of  postal  emissions ;  but  with  regard 
to  the  fiscals,  he  will  notice  only  the  ad- 
hesives,  putting  aside  the  impressed  stamps 
until  public  opinion  be  in  favour  of  their 
being  studied.  We  regret  that  Dr.  Magnus 
should  have  decided  in  favour  of  the  admis- 
sion of  even  adhesive  fiscals.  That  he  will 
analyse  and  chronicle  them  with  his  usual 
ability  we  do  not  doubt,  but  we  question 
very  much  if  any  considerable  section  of  his 
readers  will  follow  him. 

Among  the  contents  of  the  new  journal 
instalments  of  a  descriptive  catalogue  will 
find  place.  This  catalogue  will  comprehend 
a  full  description  of  all  the  types,  followed  by 
an  enumeration  of  the  sub-types  and  va- 
rieties, and  of  the  reprints.  Official  essays 
will  be  separately  treated. 

After  the  introductory  article  comes  the 
first  chapter  of  "  La  Petite  Gazette,"  or  rather 
its  preface,  in  the  shape  of  a  letter  from  Dr. 
Magnus  to  his  nephew,  entitled   "  AVhat  one 


may  learn  in  Collecting  Stamps."  To  this 
succeeds  the  "  Chronicle,"  which  occupies 
twelve  pages,  and  is,  in  fact,  a  resume  of  the 
emissions  since  the  beginning  of  the  year. 
In  running  through  it  we  notice  that  Dr. 
Magnus  confirms  our  opinion  that  both  the 
Finnish  cards  are  engraved.  Per  contra, 
the  learned  doctor  gives  his  vote  in  favour 
of  the  authenticity  of  the  Goa  stamps,  against 
which,  in  presence  of  the  accumulating  proof 
of  genuineness,  we  must  now  withdraw  our 
own  objections.  Reference  is  made  to  the 
telegraph  card  of  this  country,  and  the  whole 
of  the  notice  printed  on  the  back  is  quoted. 
The  paragraphs  treating  of  this  card  have 
been  copied  verbatim  into  the  official  journal 
of  the  republic,  with  due  acknowledgment 
of  the  source — an  honour,  probably,  unex- 
pected by  their  writer. 

The  number  closes  with  a  lengthy  but  use- 
ful notice  to  subscribers  respecting  the  com- 
munication of  novelties,  in  which  senders  of 
new  emissions  of  private  offices  are  requested 
to  accompany  the  specimens  with  proofs  of 
authenticity,  in  the  shape  of  newspaper 
articles,  prospectuses,  or  other  documents. 

This  first  number  runs  to  twenty-four 
pages  in  all,  in  consequence  of  the  length  of 
the  "  Chronicle,"  but  the  ordinary  contents 
will  be  sixteen  pages.  In  size  it  is  an  im- 
perial octavo.  The  typographical  arrange- 
ments are  good,  but  we  cannot  say  much 
for  the  frontispiece,  which  strikes  us  as  being 
a  very  inartistic  composition. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

THE  CINGALESE  CUKREXCY. 

To  (he  Editor  o/'"The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazixe." 

Dear  Sir, — In  your  magazine  for  May  you  speak, 
under  the  heading  or  '*  Ceylon,"  of  "the  new  Cingalese 
dollar,"  Sec.  We  have  no  dollar  here.  Our  standard  is 
the  rupee,  the  same  as  in  India,  and  is  worth  all  through 
India  and  Ceylon  exactly  two  shillings.  In  exchange  be- 
tween England  the  value,  of  course,  varies  according  to 
condition  of  money-market.  In  Ceylon  Ave  have  a  decimal 
division  of  the  rupee  into  cents, "whilst  in  India  their 
division  is  into  annas  and  pies. 

The  cent,  therefore,  is  not  equal  to  Ihe  English  far- 
thing, but  in  postal  matters  the  government  have  reck- 
oned it  so,  thus  conferring  a  slight  postal  boon  upon  the 
Ceylon  public,  rather  than,  by  adhering  to  the  exact  pre- 
vious rates,  have  stamps  expressed  in  cents  and  fractions, 
which  would  have  been  necessary. 
I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Yours  obedientlv. 

Colombo.  X  X. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


143 


THE  "PENSY  POST"   MARKS. 
To  the  Editor  of  "  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — "With  reference  to  the  penny  posts  which  I 
brought  under  your  notice  in  my  last  letter,  I  beg  to  state 
that  the  dates  of  two  of  them  in  my  possession  are  February 
16th,  1830,  and  July  3rd,  1830.  "In  my  opinion  there  were 
small  offices  in  the  suburbs  of  large  cities,  which,  on  pay- 
ment of  a  penny,  forwarded  letters  to  the  metropolis ; 
these  offices  also  existed  in  the  towns  themselves,  for  in 
Dublin  I  have  covers  impressed  with  the  names  of  streets. 
Your  correspondent,  J.  H.  H.,  has  not  stated  whether  he 
possesses  any  covers  stamped  with  the  names  of  persons, 
— as  "bollon's  penny  post;  "  and  I  should  be  inclined 
to  think  that  he  has  spoiled  his  specimens  by  separating 
the  stamp  from  the  cover.  If  the  Americans  could  only 
find  such  things  as  these  "  down  South,"  I  have  no  doubt 
that  many  a  letter  would  be  written  by  enterprising  dealers 
to  suburban  postmasters,  to  inquire  of  them  what  they 
knew  about  the  new  coiners. 

I  remain,  Sir, 

Yours  truly, 

Dublin.  "  M.  H.  C. 


To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Sir, — In  The  Stamp- Collector1  s  Magazine  for  May,  page 
74,  you  refer  to  some  old  marks  found  b}*  a  correspondent 
on  ancient  letters,  and  as  you  desire  some  further  infor- 
mation, the  few  I  enclose  may  assist  you  as  regards  dates. 

I  have  a  collection  of  about  1000  varieties  of  post- 
marks, which  I  made  several  years  ago  ;  and  among  them 
I  have  thirty-six  varieties  of  the  Fenny  Post,  in  black,  red, 
and  blue,  the  oldest  being  a  Southampton  one,  dated  29 
May,  1827  (blue  ink.)  I  have  always  been  at  a  loss  to 
comprehend  these,  as  I  understood  that  the  penny  post 
began  in  1810.  Likewise  thirty-  two  Id.  paid,  and  two 
2d.  paid.  I  have  one  okehampton,  6d.  clause  post, 
being  the  only  one  I  have  ever  seen,  and  should  like  to 
know  what  "Clause  Post"  means.  I  have  only  three 
varieties  of  Sunday  marks,  which  are  rather  curious. 
The  one  marked  Oc.  7-  89,  means  October  7,  1789.  Can 
you  inform  me  the  meaning  of  the  small  triangle  in  the 
tracing  of  August  6,  1850  ?  and  a  similar  one  by  itself 
you  will  observe  on  an  official  letter  from  the  India  Office. 
1  also  send  two  Fermi/  Fosts — Southampton  and  Milbrook 
—  on  one  paper,  which  might  assist  to  an  explanation. 
Milbrook  is  about  two  miles  from  Southampton.  As  it  is 
the  only  one  I  have  saved  entire,  I  should  like  it  returned. 
My  oldest  postmark  is  of  the  year  1710. 

I  also  send  tracings  of  three  Swiss  marks  I  found  on 
letters  of  about  1861.  Should  you  consider  them  as 
postage  stamps  ?  You  will  observe  it  seems  as  a  frank- 
mark  of  1  f.  and  78  c. 

The  Salisbury  postmark,  as  shown  in  the  tracing,  is  the 
largest  I  have  met  with. 

I  am,  Sir, 

Yours  truly, 

Lymington.  J  H. 

[The  tracings  and  specimens  sent  by  our  correspondent  are  of  much 
interest.  TUe  Okehampton  one  is  composed  of  a  transverse  oblone.  with 
okehampton  on  the  first  line  and  6d.  clause  post  on  the  second.  What  a 
"  clause  post  "  could  have  been  we  are  at  a  loss  to  conjecture.  The  other 
most  noticeable  impressions  are  the  drummond  st.,  2d.  paid,  and 
Kensington  2  py.  paid,  which  indicate  the  existence  of  a  twopennv  post, 
peculiar,  probably,  to  London.  The  Swiss  marks  consist  of  (1)  a  tiiangle 
with  a  bar  across  the  middle,  fr.  above,  and  1  F.  78  c.  below.  (2).  An 
oblong  rectangle,  with  similarly  disposed  abbreviations,  and  (3)  a  small 
oblong  inscribed  B.  6  K.  These  marks  are  similar  to  those  found  on 
French  letters,  and  already  noticed  in  these  pages.  We  should  certainly 
hold  them  over,  pending  explanations  of  their  use.  We  cannot  give  our 
correspondent  any  information  as  to  the  meaning  ot  the  triangle.  — Ed.] 


THE  CHILIAN  ENVELOPES  AND  POST    CARDS. 
To  the  Editor  of  "The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir,— On  the  first  page  of  The  Philatelist  for 
May  there  is  an  engraving  intended  to  give  an  approxi- 
mate idea  of  the  design  of  the  Chilian  envelopes;  it  is 
also  understood  that  the  stamp  is  the  work  of  a  native 
artist. 

As  I  have  as  yet  seen  or  heard  nothing  of  the  envelopes 
in  question,  I  wrote  to  the  postmaster-general,  and  re- 
ceived in  answer  the  assurance  that  the  envelopes  had  not 
yet  been  received,  and  that  he  had  not  seen  and  could  give 
no  account  of  the  stamp,  the  engraving  of  which  I  de- 
scribed to  him. 

I  believe,  therefore,  that  I  am  not  far  wrong  in  saying 
that  the  design  is  the  production  of  some  "foreign" 
artist,  perhaps  even  of  the  gentleman  who,  some  time  ago, 
on  his  own  account,  issued  envelopes  for  the  Argentine 
republic  ;  in  both  cases  the  design  of  the  adhesive  has 
been  closely  copied. 

I  would  here  warn  collectors,  too,  against  accepting 
Chilian  post  cards  without  the  corresponding  adhesives. 
The  Philatelist,  in  describing  them,  says,  that,  "  in 
common  with  the  new  Russian  post  card,  this  emission 
has  the  disqualification  of  bearing  no  impressed  stamp." 
One  thing,  however,  they  have  not  in  common,  viz.,  the 
adhesive  stamp.  If  I  mistake  not,  the  Russian  card  is 
sold  without  the  stamp ;  ours,  never.  Like  the  post  cards 
of  most  countries,  these  are  sold  at  facial  value — 2  c.  and 
5  c,  respectively. 

I  remain,  dear  Sir, 

Yours  obediently, 

Valparaiso.  L.  W.  M 


THE  PETERSBURG  AND  PLEASANT  SHADE 
STAMPS— MR.  COSTER'S  REPLY  TO  MR. 
PEMBERTON. 

To  the  Editor  of  "The  Stamp- Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — The  July  number  of  The  Philalelical 
Journal  is  just  to  hand,  and  in  it  Mr.  Pemberton's  "re- 
view" of  my  letter  in  the  July  number  of  The  Stamp- 
Collector's  Magazine,  on  the  subject  of  the  Petersburg 
stamp. 

I  had  at  first  intended  not  to  take  any  notice  of  the  re- 
view in  question,  which,  permit  me  to  say,  is  written  in  a 
style  entirely  unworthy  of  any  occupant  of  an  editorial 
chair.  However,  "drowning  men  clutch  at  straws,"  and 
1  suppose  that  Mr.  Pemberton  saw  no  other  way  to  keep 
himself  from  sinking.  Mr.  Pemberton's  review  is,  in 
fact,  one  continued  slander,  with  scarcely  a  single  accurate 
assertion,  from  beginning  to  end.  This  is  very  plain 
language,  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  quite  warranted  by  the 
circumstances  of  the  case. 

Setting  a-ide  all  his  personal  abuse,  let  me  quote,  ver- 
batim, his  "review"  of  mv  letter,  above  referred  to. 
Mr.  P.  says— 

"  We  ourselves,  as  the  writer  and  investigator  of  the 
subject,  are  bound  to  confess  that  we  do  not  believe  that 
there  is  one  atom  of  truthful  fact  in  the  letter  mentioned. 
The  establishment  of  the  existence  of  Mr.  Upchurch  rests 
solely  with  a  third  and  probably  supposititious  person,  in 
whom  we  do  not  believe.  Mr.  Coster,  though  undoubtedly 
a  collector  of  considerable  merit,  has  been  again  hood- 
winked, our  writings  have  had  the  usual  efiect.  *  *  *  Let 
us  but  give  our  opinion — the  result  of  really  careful  in- 
vestigation—and our  American  cousins  can  then  find  out 
facts  by  the  dozen,  or  else  get  some  one  of  unblemished 


144 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


moral  character  to  -write  them  for  them  at  so  much  per 
foot.  *  *  *  What  we  wrote  concerning  the  Petersburg  was 
the  result  of  careful  analysis,  and  we  are  not  disposed  to 
alter  one  single  word  of  our  statements." 

This  is  very  fine  language,  and  quite  worthy  of  its 
talented  author,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  the  poorest 
kind  of  argument ;  for  it  will  be  observed  that,  although  he 
indulges  in  plenty  of  abuse,  he  does  not  even  attempt  to 
show  a  single  point  in  whith  my  proof s  are  defective.  He 
does  not  believe  in  Mr.  Young  or  Mr.  Unchurch "s  exist- 
ence. It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Pemberton  should  be 
so  incredulous,  but  as  I  do  not  suppose  that  either  of  the 
gentlemen  in  question  would  feel  disposed  to  go  to  Europe 
to  prove  to  Mr.  P.  their  veritable  being,  I  will  endeavour 
to  prove  it  by  other  means. 

First. — I  beg  to  refer  Mr.  Pemberton  to  any  United 
States  business  register  or  directory.  He  will  find  therein 
u  W.  C  Upchurch,  Ealeigh,  N.  C."  and  '*B.  A.  Young  & 
Bro.,  Petersburg,  Va."  Then,  if  he  will  refer  to  the  co- 
partnership directory,  he  will  find  that.Jno.  D.  Younr.  Esq., 
is  one  of  the  firm  of  B.  A.  Young  6c  Bro. 

Second. — I  am  to  day  sending  to  the  editor  of  this  mag- 
azine a  three-cents  stamped  envelope  of  the  present  issue, 
bearing  the  return  request  of  Messrs.  B.  A.  Young  6c  Bro. 
Also  a  letter  from  Mr.  Young,  written  on  paper  bearing 
Messrs.  B.  A.  Young  and  Bro.'s  printed  business  heading. 
I  send  this  letter  so  that  the  writing  therein  may  be 
compared  with  the  writing  on  the  envelope.  I  also  send 
Mr.  Young's  visiting-card.  Should  the  editor  of  The 
Stamp-Collector s  Magazine  find  all  these  "documents" 
in  order,  perhaps  he  will  oblige  me  with  a  note  at  the  bot- 
tom of  this  letter,  so  stating. 

The  sentence  about  "getting  some  one  to  write  facts  by 
the  foot  "  is  too  supremely  ridiculous  to  take  any  further 
notice  of. 

In  regard  to  my  being  "  again  hoodwinked,"  I  desire  to 
know  (supposing  even  that  I  were  in  error  in  the  present 
instance,  which  I  certainly  am  not)  to  what  previous  oc- 
casion Mr.  Pemberton  refers,  when  he  uses  the  word 
"  again."  I  am  happy  to  say  that  I  have  never  made  any 
assertion  in  any  stamp  magazine  that  I  am  not  able  to 
sustain  by  abundant  proofs ;  and  I  must  therefore  call  on 
Mr.  Pemberton  to  "rise  to  explain." 

As  to  the  "  Pleasant  Shade,"  we  have  but  to  compare 
what  Mr.  Pemberton  says,  on  pp.  9,  60,  63,  68,  117,  and 
118  of  his  infallible  journal,  "with  what  he  says  on  p.  116, 
and  we  are  forced  to  exclaim — "Consistency,  thou  art  a 
jewel"  (X.B. — Xot,  however,  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  P.). 
I  have  shown  (in  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine  for 
August)  that  this  stamp  does  exist  as  a  genuine  issue,  and 
need  add  nothing  further  thereto,  except  that  the  name 
of  "  Pleasant  Shade  "  is  found  in  all  the  post-office  direc- 
tories published  prior  to  the  -war,  but  that  since  then  the 
name  of  the  post-office  has  been  changed.  As  to  whether 
those  that  have  been  offered  to  Mr.  Pemberton  in  El 
are  genuine  or  not.  I  cannot  say,  unless  he  will  send  me 
one  to  compare  with  a  genuine  copy,  to  which  I  have 
access. 

It  certainly  is  to  be  sincerely  regretted  that  unprincipled 
parties  have  made  the  scarcity  of  known  genuine  speci- 
mens of  Confederate  provisionals  the  means  of  endless 
swindling :  but  unless  Mr.  Pemberton  can  learn  to  dis- 
criminate between  the  good  and  the  bad,  he  had  better  not 
attempt  to  elucidate  matters,  but  rather  should  apply  to 
persons  better  posted  than  himself. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  correct  an  apparently  slight  but 
really  important  error  in  my  letter  in  your  July  number, 
which  arose  through  a  mistake  on  my  part  in  reading  Mr. 
J.  D.  Young's  letter.  Speaking  of  the  envelope  bearing 
Young's  imprint,  I  said  it  was  recognized  as  the 


writing  of  one  of  the  partners  of  "Balf  Bro"s."      This 
should  read  "  B.  A.  Young  k  Bro." 

Trusting  that  you  will  excuse  my  occupying  so  much  of 
your  valuable  space  with  a  subject  concerning  which  Mr. 
Pemberton  stands  almost,  if  not  entirely,  alone  in  his 
opinions,  I  feel  tempted  to  close  by  repeating,  for  his 
special  benefit,  the  familiar  rhyme  :— 

•  •  A  man  convinced  against  his  will, 
Is  of  the  same  opinion  still." 

Yours  very  truly, 
New  York.  CHARLES  H.   COSTER. 

[The  letter  sent  by  our  correspondent  is  signed  "  J.  D.  Young,"  and  is 
in  the  same  handwriting  as  the  address  on  the  envelope.  Both  letter 
and  envelope  bear  Messrs.  Young's  imprint.  The  letter  is  dated  from 
Petersburg.  Va..  22nd  May.  1»?2,  and  contains  most  of  the  information 
respecting  the  Petersburg  stamp  which  was  embodied  in  Mr.  Coster's 
first  letter.  At  the  close  of  the  letter  Mr.  Youns  says.  "Let  me  assure 
you  that  I  do  not  consider  giving  such  information  as  I  can  about  this  a 
trouble,  rather  a  pleasure.  As  1  before  stated,  I  once  had  a  small  col- 
lection, and  know  how  to  value  sueh  things."  The  visiting-card  simply 
bears  the  imprint,  "  John  D.  Young,"  and  below  ••  Petersburg.  Va." — kb.] 


AXSWERS  TO    CORRESPOXDEXTS. 

H.  A.  E..  Victoria. — 1.  The  Mecklenburg  and  Brunswick 
quartett  should  be  collected  entire,  but  a  single  quarter 
might  be  put  by  the  side  of  the  entire  stamp,  to  illustrate 
its  use. — 2  and  3.  The  1 J  schilling  stamp,  with  value  in 
centre  of  a  wreath,  is  one  of  the  provisional  Holstein 
stamps  issued  by  the  Prussians  during  the  Danish  war ; 
and  the  I J  schg.  Schleswig  belongs  to  the  same  epoch. — 
4.  The  profile  on  the  Java  stamps  is  that  of  the  kin?  of 
Holland. 

E.  B..  St.  Albans. — Your  30  c.  Belgian  is  certainly  of  a 
paler  shade  than  ordinary — more  buff  than  amber  ;  it 
comes,  probably,  from  stock  recently  printed,  and,  as  a 
colour-variety,  is  worthy  of  collection. 

A  Collector  or  Stamps.  INorbiton,  writes  to  express 
his  concurrence  in  the  opinions  as  to  the  advisability  of 
collecting  cut  envelopes,  advocated  in  a  letter  quoted  in 
the  article  entitled  "The  Gordian  Knot  of  Stamp-Col.ect- 
ing,"  which  appeared  in  our  June  number. 

A.  S.  S.,  Wokingham. — We  are  aware  that  the  circula- 
tion of  most  of  the  French  imperial  stamps  has  exceeded 
that  of  the  Bepublican  issue  ;  nevertheless.  wt  are  obliged 
for  your  communication. 

E.  B..  New  York. — We  beg  to  thank  you  for  your 
courtesy  in  sending  us  a  specimen  of  the  perforated 
Japanese — the  first  we  had  seen.  It  was  duly  noticed  in 
our  last. 

P.  J.  A.,  Inverness. — The  list  of  philatelic  publications 
alluded  to  on  page  182  of  our  last  volume,  was  published 
in  the  October  number  of  Ihe  American  Journal  of 
Philately. 

W.  Ct.  B..  Eondon. — The  fact  that  you  received  a  per- 
forated 4  c.  French  (head  of  Liberty)"  on  the  26th  June, 
does  not  militate  against  the  correctness  of  a  statement 
made  by  us  in  April,  to  the  effect  that  no  one  had  then 
seen  such  a  stamp.  In  fact,  the  perforated  i  c.  was 
issued  in  June,  and  is  not  a  new  edition  of  the  Bordeaux 
type,  but  an  engraved  copy  of  the  design  of  the  latter. 

F.  H.  H.  Kew. — The  labels  from  France,  printed  in 
black  on  yellow,  orange,  and  red  paper,  bearing  the 
profile  of  a  man  in  the  ceutie.  and  inscribed  txat  sxoc 
liremcd,  must  be  unmitigated  humbugs. 

L.  W.  M..  Valparaiso  — The  inaccuracy  of  the  statement 
with  reference  to  the  abstention  from  using  the  imperial 
stamps  during  the  siege  of  Paris,  has  already  been 
admitted.— Our  English  postage  stamps  can  still  be  cashed 
at  the  post-office  against  2h  per  cent  discount. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


145 


OUR   CONTEMPORARIES. 

[Emissions  noticed  in  the  present  Article:— 
Falkland  Islands —  Geneva — Austria — Denmark — 
Wurtemburg — French  Colonies— Sandtvich  Islands — 
New  Brunswick.'] 

La  Gazette  des  Timbres. — The  opening  num- 
ber was  reviewed  in  our  last  impression  ; 
the  notice  of  the  second  number  of  a  jour- 
nal which  takes  an  honoured  place  among 
"  Our  Contemporaries  "  finds  place  here. 

The  latter  opens  with  the  first  instal- 
ment of  the  promised  "  Notes  on  the  Metho- 
dical Formation  of  a  Collection,"  which  will, 
we  do  not  doubt,  prove  of  much  value,  for, 
as  its  author  remarks,  "Up  to  the  present 
time  no  one  has  settled,  or  at  any  rate  de- 
monstrated, the  principles  which  should 
govern  the  formation  of  a  collection  of 
stamps.  Everyone  has  been  guided  by  his 
own  taste  and  fancy.  No  doubt  each  one 
can  extend  or  restrict  his  collection  accord- 
ing to  his  idea  or  his  personal  resources  ;  it 
is  not  less  true  that  the  formation  and  classifi- 
cation may  be  submitted  to  a  defined  method. 
What  distinctions  should  characterise  a  col- 
lection of  this  kind  ?  To  what  categories  of 
stamps  can  it  apply  ?  And  of  each  category 
what  are  the  stamps  which  the  collection 
should  contain,  to  be  complete  ?  On  the 
other  hand,  what  are  the  stamps  which 
should  be  excluded,  in  order  that  it  may  not 
lose  its  specialite  ?  "  These  questions  go  to 
the  root  of  the  matter,  and  from  the  replies 
which  they  will  receive,  and  the  discussion 
by  which  they  will  be  followed — if  such  re- 
plies do  not  meet  with  general  acceptance — 
will,  we  trust,  result  the  establishment  of 
such  exact  and  recognised  definitions  as  will 
subject  stamp-collecting  to  a  salutary  code  of 
laws.  We  will  not  attempt  to  forestall  the 
discussion  by  answering  any  of  these  ques- 
tions ourselves,  but  we  may  remark  that, 
faithful  to  the  title  of  the  journal  and  of  the 
article  itself,  its  author  treats  not  of  postage 
stamps  in  particular,  but  of  all  kinds  of 
stamps—postage,  telegraph,  and  fiscal — in 
general.  With  the  observations  treating  of 
fiscal  stamps  we  have  nothing  to  do  ;  but  the 
rules  which  should  govern  collecting  as  they 
apply  to  all  stamps,  whatever  their  employ- 
ment, will,  a  fortiori,  apply  to  the  collection 
of  our  own  proteges — postage  stamps. 

VOL.  X.    No.  117. 


The  author,  with  strict  regard  to  logic, 
opens  his  article  with  a  definition  of  the  word 
stamp,  and  argues  that  the  service  performed 
by  a  stamp,  namely,  the  payment  to  the  state 
of  a  charge  or  duty,  and  not  the  fact  of  its 
being  adhesive  or  impressed,  should  decide 
its  acceptance  or  exclusion.  He  then  pro- 
ceeds to  the  division  of  stamps  into  two 
grand  classes  or  categories — I.  The  fiscal 
stamps,  which  represent  the  payment  of  a 
tax  or  duty  ;  and — II.  The  postage  and  tele- 
graph stamps,  wherewith  payment  is  made 
to  the  state  for  services  rendered  by  it.  The 
author's  predilections  are  strongly  in  favour 
of  the  collection  of  fiscal?,  and  are  shown  by 
his  putting  them  in  the  first  class,  for  no 
reason  that  we  can  imagine  other  than 
priority  of  invention.  He  discusses,  with 
evident  pleasure,  the  circumstances  connected 
with  their  emission,  and  expresses  his  regret 
that  up  to  the  present  time  they  have  not 
been  properly  catalogued,  whilst  the  smallest 
details  connected  with  postage  stamps  have 
been  carefully  described.  In  further  develop- 
ment of  his  objection,  he  adds  the  following 
foot-note,  the  argument  in  which  deserves 
attention  :  — 

"Not  only  have  the  secondary  varieties 
been  described,  which  have  but  little  value 
for  the  history  of  stamps,  but,  which  yet 
might  merit  notice  as  affecting  the  partial 
emission  of  a  given  type  (the  Oldenburg 
stamp,  with  error  Oldeiburg ;  stamps  of 
Modena  and  Parma,  with  sundry  errors, 
&c),  but  other  varieties  have  also  been 
mentioned  which  are  totally  insignificant, 
such  as  those  which  result  from  an  isolated 
typographical  accident  (as,  for  instance,  when 
two  envelopes  with  inscription  having  passed 
under  the  press  at  the  same  time,  one  of 
them  has  received  an  uncoloured  impression 
from  the  die).  It  would,  perhaps,  be  ad- 
visable to  disengage  the  already  minute 
details  in  the  study  of  stamps  from  these 
complications  which  offer  no  real  interest." 

In  the  "Little"  or  "Minor  Gazette," 
Doctor  Magnus  discourses  on  "  what  maybe 
included  in  a  limited  collection."  After 
referring  to  the  existence  of  the  different 
classes  of  stamps  mentioned  above,  he 
recommends  the  young  collector  to  confine 
his  attention  to  postage  stamps,  and  further 


146 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


counsels  beginners  to  a  complete  abstention 
from  the  study  of  perforations,  of  varieties  of 
shade,  and  of  descriptions  of  paper,  but  lie 
engages  them  to  accept,  though  with  caution, 
the  issues  of  private  offices. 

The  Chronicle  and  the  first  instalment  of 
the  Catalogue  Haisonne  complete  the  number. 
In  the  latter  article  the  list  of  the  Austrian 
stamps  is  commenced,  and  the  names  of  the 
colours  which  should  be  collected  by  begin- 
ners are  printed  in  a  thick  salient  type. 

The  third  number  of  this  journal  reaches 
us  at  the  moment  of  going  to  press,  and 
we  have  only  space  for  a  hasty  survey  of 
its  contents.  It  opens  with  a  notice  of 
the  Falkland  Islands,  and  their  solitary  hand- 
struck  impression  ;  which,  as  it  is  probably 
made  on  the  envelope  after  payment  of  the 
postal  rate,  Dr.  Magnus  considers  to  be 
nothing  more  than  a  simple  postmark. 

In  the  continuation  of  the  "  Memoir  on  the 
Methodical  Formation  of  a  Collection,"  the 
author  describes  the  various  species  of 
postage  stamps,  recommends  the  acceptance 
of  unstamped  post  cards,  and  adds,  that  as 
an  aid  to  study  and  verification,  it  is  well  to 
add  to  the  collection  : — 1.  Stamps  prepared 
by  a  postal  administration,  but  not  issued  in 
consequence  of  some  change,  political  or 
otherwise.  2.  Official  reprints,  which  how- 
ever, he  admits  have  scientifically  no  intrinsic 
value.  "  The  stamp,"  he  observes,  "  is  not  an 
engraving  published  for  the  satisfaction  of 
collectors,  but  an  official  instrument  created 
for  the  service  of  the  public."  3.  Counter- 
feits, when  made  with  a  view  to  defraud  the 
governments,  or,  in  some  exceptional  cases, 
as  an  indispensable  means  of  verification 
(e.  g.,  Moldavia,  1st  issue).  4.  Essays  issued 
by  a  postal  administration,  or,  at  its  instiga- 
tion, by  private  engravers,  but  not  mere 
speculative  productions.  In  the  "  Minor 
Gazette."  beginners  are,  with  reason,  warned 
against  putting  their  faith  in  obliterations  as 
a  guarantee  of  authenticity,  and  good  advice 
is  given  them  as  to  the  selection  of  their 
stamps.  A  second  instalment  of  the  "  Cata- 
logue Raisonne"  and  the  usual  "Chronicle" 
complete  the  number. 

La  Tlmhre-Poste. — In  the  current  number 
appears  a  further  instalment  of  Dr.  Magnus's 
article  on  "  Stamped  Envelopes,"  in  which 


those  of  Switzerland  are  treated  of,  com- 
mencing with  the  5  c.  envelope  of  Geneva. 
Dr.  Magnus  is  not  of  those  who  doubt  its 
authenticity  because  all  the  entire  envelopes 
known  are  unobliterated.  As  to  the  adhe- 
sive 5  c.  green  on  ivhite,  which  is  said  to 
exist,  the  following  are  the  learned  Doctor's 
observations  : — 

It  would  be  tolerably  difficult  to  distinguish  this  stamp 
from  the  stamp  of  the  envelope.  However,  as  the  paper 
of  the  latter  is  yellowish  grey,  if  a  stamp  with  small 
margin  should  turn  up,  on  white  paper,  and  gummed  at 
the  back,  there  would  be  a  very  strong  presumption  in 
favour  of  an  adhesive  stamp.  But  the  yellowish  tint 
which  paper  acquires  in  time,  and  the  necessity  for  gum- 
ming a  stamp  in  order  to  mount  it  on  an  envelope,  render 
these  characteristics  very  uncertain.  The  best  proof  that 
could  be  given  of  the  existence  of  adhesive  stamps  printed 
on  white  paper  would  be  to  produce  an  uncut  pair  of  them. 
Until  then  the  existence  of  the  adhesive  stamp,  printed 
in  colour  on  white  paper,  will  always  appear  to  us 
doubtful,  and  the  distinction  between  it  and  the  cut  en- 
velope very  problematical. 

The  number  closes  with  "  Three  facts  in 
the  History  of  the  Postage  Stamp  in  Austria," 
by  Baron  A.  de  Rothschild.  The  first  of 
these  facts  is,  that  whilst  the  postage  between 
Austria  and  France,  prior  to  the  conclusion 
of  a  postal  treaty,  was  about  thirty-two  cent- 
imes, it  is  now,  by  virtue  of  the  treaty,  sixty 
centimes,  of  which  sum  twenty  centimes  go  to 
the  profit  of  the  Austrian  treasury,  and  is  a 
clear  loss  to  the  French  public.  This  strange 
result  arises  from  the  application  of  a  favourite 
doctrine  of  the  French  post-office,  that  it  is 
entitled  to  collect  a  charge  of  twenty  cent- 
imes on  all  letters  traversing  French  terri- 
tory, no  matter  to  what  extent,  and  that  it 
recognises  the  right,  on  the  part  of  foreign 
post-offices,  to  claim  an  equal  sum. 

The  second  fact  has  reference  to  the  useful- 
ness of  stamped  envelopes  in  Hungary.  A 
correspondent  of  the  baron,  residing  in  Hun- 
gary, informed  him  that  finding  that  many 
of  his  letters  to  France,  duly  prepaid  by  him 
by  means  of  adhesive  stamps,  never  reached 
their  destination,  he  applied  to  the  post- 
master of  his  town — the  second  in  importance 
in  the  realm  of  St.  Etienne — for  an  expla- 
nation, and  the  latter  then  admitted  to  him 
that  the  postal  employes,  being  very  badly 
paid,  did  not  hesitate  to  increase  their  in- 
come by  removing  the  25  kreuzer  stamps 
from  letters  for  France,  selling  them,  and 
destroying    the    letters    themselves  !      The 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


147 


Hungarian  postmaster  indicated  to  the  ap- 
plicant, as  a  friend,  a  means  of  escaping  from 
a  practice  to  which  he  declared  his  subordi- 
nates resorted  from  pure  want,  viz.,  the  em- 
ployment of  stamped  envelopes.  Baron 
Rothschild,  unable  to  guarantee  the  exact- 
ness of  this  piquant  anecdote,  closes  it  with 
the  expression  of  a  good-humoured  doubt 
whether  his  friend  may  not  have  written  with 
more  wit  than  accuracy. 

The  third  fact  is,  that  the  "journal  tax  " 
— which  Austria  collects  by  means  of  the 
"well-known  square  stamp,  with  arms  in  cen- 
tre— on  all  foreign  journals,  though  termed 
a  tax,  is,  in  reality,  a  poorly  disguised  in- 
crease of  the  postal  rates,  and  ought,  so 
thinks  the  writer,  to  be  considered  as  a 
serious  infraction  of  the  international  con- 
ventions. 

The  Philatelical  Journal  opens,  as  usual, 
with  the  "  Cream  of  the  Magazines,"  and,  in 
connection  with  the  "  Papers  for  Beginners," 
on  Denmark,  discusses,  for  the  benefit  of  ad- 
vanced collectors,  the  issue  of  the  early 
Danish  stamps,  on  paper  hurele,  and  non- 
burele,  and  prints  the  following  list  of  the 
varieties,  originally  compiled  by  the  late 
Mr.  Pauwels. 

First  Issue.— 4.  R.B.S. 

No  burele. — Yellow-brown,  chocolate. 

Burele,  ichite  or  yellowish  paper. — Yellow-brown,  cho- 
colate, dark  brown. 

Second  Issue. — Dotted  ground. 

No  hurele. — 2  sk.  blue,  pale  blue  ;  4  sk.  brown,  yellow- 
brown  ;  8  sk.  green,  var.  on  yellowish  paper ;  16  sk. 
grey-lilac,  bright  violet. 

Burele. — 2  sk  pale  blue ;  4  sk.  yellow-brown,  chestnut- 
brown,  varying  ;  8  sk.  yellow-green. 

Wavy  Ground. 

No  burele. — 4  sk.  yellow-brown,  brown ;  8 sk.  green ;  4 sk. 

brown,  rouletted  ;  16  sk.  violet,  rouletted. 
Burele.— ±  sk.    yellow-brown,    chestnut-brown,    deep 

brown  ;  8  sk.  green. 

4  sk.  pale  chestnut,  rouletted. 

Our  contemporary  closes  its  comments  on 
the  Danish  stamps,  with  a  bit  of  gossip 
anent  the  well-known  pair  of  brown  essays, 
"  head  of  Mercury  and  king,"  which  is  worth 
reprinting. 

During  the  year  1863,  we  obtained  from  Mr.  Eric 
Ritzau,  of  Copenhagen  (then  a  well-known  collector),  a 
pair  of  the  genuine  stamps,  of  which  he  gave  us  the 
history.  Of  the  original  essays,  as  submitted  to  govern- 
ment, either  but  three  pairs  had  been  preserved,  or  else 
but  three  pairs  had  been  printed  (our  memory  will  not 


allow  us  to  state  positively) ;  but  these  three  original  pairs 
were  thus  dispersed,  first,  the  pair  in  Mr.  Eitzau' s  collec- 
tion sent  to  us ;  secondly,  a  pair  in  the  possession  of  a 
Danish  gentleman,  Mr.  Hans  Kiocr,  then  residing  in 
Hong  Kong  (who  was  also  an  old  correspondent  of  ours), 
and  third,  a  pair  that  Laplante  (a  then  well-known  Paris 
dealer)  had  managed  to  secure.  Subsequently,  a  second 
pair  was  engraved,  of  which  fifty  pairs  came  into  the 
hands  of  collectors— all  others  are  forgeries ;  and  this  is  the 
outline  of  the  curious  history  of  the  three  original  pairs  of 
Danish  essays,  as  given  to  ourselves  nine  years  ago,  and 
which  we  never  remember  to  have  seen  in  print. 

Following  the  "  Cream  of  the  Magazines" 
comes  an  instructive  article  by  the  Rev.  R. 
B.  Earee,  on  the  Swedish  stamps,  and  an 
intricate  demonstration,  by  Mr  Tiffany,  of 
the  inaccuracy  of  the  official  documents 
quoted  by  us  in  18G7,  in  reference  to  the 
large-figure  Argentine.  We  must  admit 
that  we  lack  the  time  to  prove  his  calcula- 
tions ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  also 
acknowledge  that  the  history  of  these  large- 
figure  Argentines  is  not  quite  clear  from 
doubt,  in  spite  of  the  documents  which  were 
communicated  to  us. 

In  the  article  on  "Novelties,"  the  editor, 
referring  to  the  issue  of  unperforated  repub- 
lican stamps  to  the  French  colonies,  considers 
it  self-evident  that  they  must  belong  to  the 
engraved  type,  "  as  this  type  has  always 
hitherto  been  perforated,  w-hilst  the  litho- 
graphed were  unperforate ;  "  but  his  argu- 
ment proceeds  on  the  assumption  that  there 
are  no  more  lithographed  stamps  left,  wThilst 
to  us  it  had  seemed  possible  that  the 
remnant  of  the  lithographed  supply  had  been 
sent  out  to  the  colonies. 

The  valuable  paper  on  "The  Turkish 
Stamps,"  by  "A  Parisian  Collector,"  com- 
menced some  months,  back  is  completer1, 
and  Mr.  Atlee's  monograph  on  the  Sandwich 
Islands  is  continued  in  the  present  number. 
From  the  latter  we  learn  that  the  recent 
forgeries  of  the  I  and  2  c,  figure  black  on 
white  wove,  blue  wove,  and  blue  laid  (ac- 
cording to  a  statement  made  to  Mr.  Atlee 
by  a  continental  dealer  of  known  probity), 
were  received  direct  from  the  postal  authori- 
ties of  Honolulu.  It  is  therefore  evident, 
says  the  writer,  that  the  officials  have 
lowered  themselves  to  commit  a  fraud  on 
stamp-collectors,  for  the  sake  of  putting 
money  into  their  probably  famished  ex- 
chequer. 

"  Our   Catalogue  "  contains  some  further 


143 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


announcements  respecting  Mr.  Edward  L. 
Pemberton's  projected  work,  including  that 
of  his  intention,  for  clearness'  sake,  to  "eschew 
minor  variations  in  the  texture  of  unwater- 
marked  paper,  and  to  catalogue  no  sub- 
sidiary shades.  "  The  Latest  Strike,"  "A  Pool 
answered  according  to  his  Folly,"  "  Re- 
views," and  "  Answers."  complete  a  fair 
average  number. 

The  Philatelist  for  September  is  principally 
noticeable  for  the  continuation  of  two  well- 
known  articles — "The  Envelopes  of  Ger- 
many," and  "  The  Spud  Papers."  In  the 
former  the  Wurtemburg  emissions  form  the 
subject  of  analysis,  and  the  following  obser- 
vations occur  therein  with  regard  to  the  re- 
lative excellence  of  the  impression  of  the  en- 
velopes at  Berlin  and  Stuttgard  : — 

Another  element  of  variety  is  dependent  on  the  inscrip- 
tions. The  Wurtemburg  envelopes  were  manufactured 
at  Stuttgard.  This  first  series  bears  marks  of  the  want  of 
that  finish  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  envelopes  manu- 
factured at  Berlin  ;  and  in  no  point  is  this  want  of  finish 
so  noticeable  as  in  the  printing  of  the  inscription.  If  we 
compare  the  "Wurtemburg  envelopes  with  those  of  the 
southern  division  of  Tour  and  Taxis,  the  inscription  on 
which  consists  of  the  same  words  as  on  the  Wurtemburg, 
the  irregularity  of  the  printing  of  these  latter  will  be  self- 
evident.  Instead  of  there  being  an  interval  between  each 
repetition  of  the  four  words  of  the  inscription,  the  last 
word  of  one  sentence  frequently  runs  into  the  first  word 
of  the  succeeding  one,  and  the  letters  are  sometimes  above 
and  sometimes  below  the  line. 

The  "  Spud "  paper  treats  of  the  New 
Brunswick  forgeries,  of  which  specimens  of 
these  illustrate  the  article.  None  of  them 
seem  really  dangerous;  but  the  17  c.  black 
has  rather  a  deceptive  look  about  it,  and  it 
may  be  as  well  to  mention  that  this  forgery 
is  distinguished  by  the  absence  of  the  brooch 
which  appears  in  the  geuuine  on  the  Prince's 
shoulder.  In  the  article  "  Our  Prize  Essays," 
the  editor  describes  the  prizeman's  designs, 
which  he  says  "  might  be  mistaken  for  co- 
loured lithographs ;  "  and  having  had  the 
opportunity  of  inspecting  them  ourselves,  we 
can  fully  endorse  this  encomium. 

The  American  Journal  of  Philately  is  cer- 
tainly not  improving.  The  September 
number  contains  a  useless  "  table  of  dates  of 
first  issue,  and  number  of  stamps  issued  by 
each  country."  The  sole  novelty  in  the 
article  on  new  issues,  is  a  mythical  Chinese 
local  stamp,  value  |  boo,  and  supposed  to 
have  been   issued    at   Hongkong  by   a  firm 


styled  Sutherland  and  Co.  ; — probably  an 
American  house.  The  American  Journal  of 
Philatelyh&s  nodoubt  of  the  authenticity  of  the 
stamp.  The  instalment  of  "  Notes  on  United 
States  Locals "  is  occupied  with  a  recan- 
tation of  past  errors  in  description.  The 
"Notes  on  the  Stamps  of  Brazil"  are  well- 
written,  but  contain  absolutely  no  new  in- 
formation; and  the  number  closes  with  a  re- 
print of  an  article  written  by  Dr.  Gray  ten 
years  ago. 


THE    CITY  DELIVERY  POSTS 

OF 

SAN  FRANCISCO. 

BY   C.    H.    COSTER. 

I. — THE    CALIFORNIA   PENNY   POST   CO. 

[Although  many  of  the  varieties  of  the 
"  penny  post "  were  described  in  a  recent 
number  of  The  Philatelical  Journal,  I  trust 
that  no  apology  is  needed  for  reproducing 
them  here,  together  with  such  other  types 
and  information  as  I  have  been  able  to 
obtain.] 

This  company  was  started  in  the  year  1855 
by  one  J.  P.  Goodwin,  for  the  purpose  ex- 
plained in  the  following  circular,  which  we 
have  extracted  from  the  June  number  of  The 
Philatelical  Journal. 

"  Penny  Post  Company,  Office,  135,  Cali- 
fornia Street,  San  Francisco.  By  enclosing  a 
5  cents  envelope  to  the  Penny  Post  Co.  in  a 
letter,  that  may  be  sent  up  by  express  for  25 
cents,  the  answer  enclosed  in  that  envelope 
will  be  delivered  in  San  Francisco  by  7 
o'clock,  without  further  charge.  Rates — 5 
cents  prepaid,  or  10  cents  not  prepaid." 

It  had  offices  established  in  several  of  the 
principal  cities  of  the  west,  as  enumerated  on 
the  printed  franks  of  the  company,  illus- 
trated on  the  succeeding  pages. 

To  commence  with  the  envelopes,  the  types 
of  which  we  will  designate  by  the  letters  ap- 
pended thereto. 

A. — Unfortunately,  the  illustration  will 
give  but  an  indifferent  idea  of  the  original. 
The  discrepancies  arise  through  the  printers 
having  no  type  similar  to  the  old-fashioned 
style  used  on  the  envelope  in  question.  I 
will  point  out  the  differences  : — 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


149 


"  To    the    Penny    Post    Co."    is    in    open 

letters. 
"  For  "  is  in  shaded  letters. 
"  No."  and  "  Street  "  are  in  much  larger 

letters. 
"  California"  is  in  open  letters. 

The  government  postage  is  prepaid  by  un- 
perforated  3  cent  and  10  cent  stamps  of  the 
1851  issue,  which  are  postmarked  "  St. 
Louis."  It  bears  the  usual  handstamp  of 
the  "  Penny  Post  Company "  in  the  left- 
hand  lower  corner. 

Next  we  have  an  envelope  in  everywise 
similar,  excepting  that  it  is  slightly  larger, 
and  reads  penny  post  paid,  7.  This  I 
have  not  seen,  but  I  have  received  notice  of 
it  from  a  valued  correspondent,  who  says  it 
is  prepaid  by  two  3  cent  stamps  of  the  1851 
issue,  and  that  it  is  endorsed  "  Answered, 
Novr.  7,  1855."  The  Pliilatelical  Journal  no- 
tices a  cut  copy  of  the  above,  which,  it  says, 
is  from  an  1853  envelope.  All  the  above 
are  printed  in  black  on  buff  coloured  enve- 
lopes. 

B. — The  illustration  speaks  for  itself.  The 
words  "To,"  "No.,"  "Street,"  and  "  Cal." 
are  slightly  different  in  the  original,  which 
is  on  a  3  c.  buff  envelope  of  1853,  and  im- 
pressed in  black.  The  specimen  from  which 
I  now  describe  is  dated  in  pencil  "  February, 
1856."  The  Philatelical  Journal  notes  a  2  c. 
to  match,  but  reading  "To  the  post  office." 
As,  however,  it  is  cut  from  the  envelope, 
further  particulars  are  lacking. 

C. — The  transverse  oval  is  embossed,  and 
it  is  impressed  in  red  on  a  3  cent  1853  enve- 
lope. 

D. — For  exactly  what  purpose  this  was 
used  I  am  at  a  loss  to  surmise  ;  I  can 
scarcely  think  that  it  was  used  for  the 
private  correspondence  of  the  company,  but 
rather  that  the  notice  at  top  is  intended  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  sender  to  the  fact 
that  it  is  not  printed  on  a  government  enve- 
lope, and  must,  therefore,  be  prepaid  in 
government  stamps  ;  and  that  it  does  not 
allude  to  the  private  fee  of  the  "  penny  post," 
which  was  probably  collected  at  destination. 
It  must  be  understood  that  1  do  not  assert 
this  as  a  fact,  but  merely  give  it  as  a  sugges- 
tion. 


As  to  the  adhesives,  we  will  designate  them 
by  numbers  for  reference. 

1. — Transverse  oval,  formed  by  row  of 
pearls,  surrounded  by  single  line,  enclosed  in 
rectangular  frame.  The  space  between  the 
oval  and  the  outside  frame  is  filled  up  with 
straight  lines.  In  the  centre:  California 
penny  post  CO.  in  curved  line  at  top ; 
5  cents  in  centre;  at  bottom,  paid  to  the 
post  office,  curved.  Apparently  from  a 
wood-block.  Blue  impression  on  rough 
yellowish  piper. 


blue  impression. 


&PENNYX 

X  POST.         # 


4, 


These  last  three  are,  to  all  appearance,  printed 
from  steel  dies.  I  have  no  proof  that  No.  4 
was  ever  used  by  the  "  California  Penny 
Post  Company,"  bat  I  believe  that  No.  3  un- 
doubtedly was. 

5. — The  Pliilatelical  Journal  also  notes  a 
stamp,  which  is  very  similar  to  the  design 
enclosed  in  the  rectangular  frame  forming 
a  part  of  envelope  B  ; . "  but  the  entire  back- 
ground is  of  very  fine  horizontal  lines,  on 
which  paid  5  appears  in  white  letters, 
surcharged  with  from  the  post  office, 
care  of  the  penny  post  CO.,  in  text  hand, 
above  which  are  the  words  California 
penny  postage.  The  small  imitation  stamp 
is  larger,  and  clearly  resembles  the  1853  en- 
velope ;  the  impression  is  blue,  on  very  thin 
white  paper."  It  is  somewhat  dubious  as  to 
whether  this  is  an  adhesive  or  has  been  cut 
from  an  envelope.  The  pros  and  cons  may 
be  found  at  the  top  of  page  107  of  the  jour- 
nal from  which  I  extract  the  above. 


150 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


A. 


mo  mum  vmswt  fosw  ©o* 


iiTPENNY-POSTABE  PAID,  5, 


V&3H 


%.. 


SWtj 


CALIFORNIA 

The  party  whose  name  &  on  this  Envelope,  is  hereby  authorized  10  opan  tho  saoie  and  appropriate  its  contents. 


B. 


LETTERS  and  other  mail  matter 
deposited  in  any  Post  Office,  will 
be  DELIVERED  in  San  Francisco, 
Sacramento,  Stockton,  or  Ma- 
rtsyille,  immediately  on  the  arri- 
val of  the  Mails,  if  addressed  to 
the  care  of  the  "  PENNY  POST  CO." 


m. 


M. 


\ec<t; 


■■cU. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


151 


C. 


The  Penny-Post  Co. 

deliver  letters  enclosed  - 

in     these     Envelopes 

immediately     on     the 

distribution      of      the 

Mails,  in 

San  Francisco, 

Sacramento, 

Stockton, 

Benicia, 

Marysville, 

Coloma, 

Nevada, 

Grass  Valley, 

Mokelumne  Hill.  . 


TO    THE    PENNY    POST    CO. 


o 


ate  & 


lee/; 


CaL 


The  party  to  whose  care  this  is  directed  is  hereby  authorized  to  open  the  same 
aud  appropriate  its  contents. 


D. 


Letters  enclosed   in   this   Envelope  alone  cannot   be    forwarded,  as  1 
Seal   your  letter,    then   enclose   iu   envelope   addressed   to    the    Penny 
Give  occupation,  number  and  name  of  Street  when  known. 

che  Posta', 
-Post    Co. 

e  is  not 
Write 

paid, 
plain. 

m          --    - 

rWo 

J/L 

let; 

a/. 

Care  of  the  Penny-Post  Co. 


152 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


NEWLY-ISSUED    OR   INEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Japan. — The  values  quoted  for  the  perfo- 
rated set  by  The  American 
Journal  of  Philately  ap- 
pear to  be  incorrect.  Our 
Brighton  contemporary, 
whose  information  is 
doubtless  derived  from  a 
trustworthy  scarce,  states 
them  to  be  as  follows  : — 

chocolate-brown 
sa^e-green 
blue 
vermilion. 


1  tenpo.  2  tenpoes. 

It  also  adds  :  "  The  J  tenpo  sage-green  is 
the  only  gummed  stamp  of  this  issue  ;  we 
therefore  presume  that  it  supersedes  the  \ 
tenpo  chocolate- brown,  and  that  the  latter 
will  become  scarce.  Doubtless  a  perforated 
5  tenpoes  is  in  use,  but  no  specimen  has  yet 
reached  us.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the 
symbol  which  appeared  at  the  top  of  the  old 
set  is  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  new,  with 
one  variable  device  above."  The  impression 
of  these  new-comers  is  on  the  whole  inferior 
to  that  of  the  unperforated  set,  the  designs 
being  more  or  less  blurred.  The  central 
characters  alone  are  finer.  Our  contem- 
porary gives  no  reason  for  his  assumption 
that  a  5  tenpo  stamp  is  in  use,  but  the  ex- 
tension of  the  postal  system  would  form  a 
sufficient  ground  for  crediting  its  existence. 

The  Gazette  des  Timbres,  to  hand  since  the 
above  was  written,  gives  the  values  as  sen, 
or  zeni;  but  in  these  denominations  it  is 
easy  to  trace  the  tenpo  of  the  English  jour- 
nals, and  this  value  is  admitted  on  all  hands 
to  be  the  equivalent  of  the  American  cent. 
Our  Parisian  contemporary  gives  the  follow- 
ing explanation  of  the  inscription,  which 
seems    to    us    to    be    rather    contradictory. 


"  The  new  stamps  are  of  the  same  type  as 
the  old,  but  of  the  two  characters  in  black 
which  they  bear,  the  lower,  which  signifies 
sen  or  zeni,  is  the  reproduction  of  the  upper 
one  on  the  old.  In  fact,  the  stamps  are 
issued  in  a  new  currency,  hence  whilst  in  the 
old  the  value  is  expressed  in  mons,  the  new 
has  it  in  sen  or  zeni." 

Now,  such  being  the  case,  it  seems  to  us 
that  the  character  on  the  new  stamps,  sig- 
nifying sen  or  zeni,  can  hardly  be  the  repro- 
duction of  the  character  on  the  old  stamps, 
signifying  mons ;  and  if,  in  fact,  the  old 
stamps  bear  the  character  which  represents 
sen,  or  zeni,  then  their  value  cannot  have 
been  expressed  in  mons,  unless,  indeed,  both 
denominations  are  quoted  on  the  stamps. 

Dr.  Magnus  gives  as  reasons  for  the  im- 
possibility of  deciphering  the  characters  by 
means  of  Mr.  Earee's  list,  that,  as  regards  the 
brown  and  greyish  green,  the  figure  repre- 
senting |  is  not  found  therein  ;  and  as  for  the 
two  higher  values,  the  difficulty  in  recognis- 
ing them  results  from  the  fact,  that  the  signs 
on  the  first  stamps,  and  those  given  by  the 
journals,  are  the  common  Japanese  figures, 
whilst  the  signs  on  the  new  blue  and  red 
stamps  are  "monumental"  figures — i.e.,  as 
we  understand  it,  antique  numerals. 

Spain. — Through  the  kindness  of  an  es- 
teemed correspondent,  we  are  enabled  to 
announce  that  the  new  emission  for  this 
country  will  come  into  use  on  this  1st  of 
October,  and  will  consist  of  the  following 
values  : — 

With  figure  of  value  : 

4-4  cent  de  peseta      pale  blue  (unperf.) 
2         ,,  ,,  mauve,  red-violet. 

5  „  ,,  deep  green. 
With  head  of  king  : 

6  cent  de  peseta  bright  blue. 
10     „               ,,  dull  lilac. 
12     ,,               „  lilac. 

25     „  „  light  brown. 

40     ,,  ,,  pale  brown. 

50     ,,  „  pale  green. 

With  profile  of  king  : 

1  peseta  dull  lilac. 

4     ,,  pale  brown. 

10     ,,  pale  green. 

We  hope  soon  to  have  a  sight  of  these 
long-expected  novelties,  and  so  be  able,  in 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTORS   MAGAZINE. 


153 


the  next  number,  to  furnish  our  readers  with 
a  more  minute  description  of  them.  Mean- 
while, we  trust  they  may  be  worthy  of  our 
most  sanguine  anticipations. 

Russian  Locals. — Fatejh  (Koursk).  The 
handstamped  envelopes  of  this  district  have 
but  just  made  their  appearance,  fourteen 
months  after  their 
discovery.  The  de- 
sign is  an  odd  one, 
and  may  give  rise  to 
much  conjecture  as 
to  the  staple  produc- 
tions of  Fatejh.  If 
the  gun  be  a  fowling- 
piece,  and  the  birds  partridges,  then  the 
intimation  which  these  signs  may  be  taken 
to  convey,  that  there  are  some  good  covers 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Fatejh,  may 
prove  useful  to  sporting  philatelists  in 
search  of  "fresh  fields  and  pastures  new," 
and  the  illustration  appears  with  season- 
able appropriateness.  However,  leaving 
the  task  of  deciphering  the  design  to  more 
competent  hands,  we  have  to  notice  that 
there  are  two  values  of  this  design,  viz., 
4  kop.,  "for  letters  going  to  post-towns" — 
so  says  our  correspondent — and  6  kop.,  "  for 
letters  delivered  in  the  district."  Hence  it 
will  be  seen,  that  the  charge  for  delivery  in 
the  neighbourhood  is  higher  than  that  for 
conveyance  to  a  post  town.  The  colours  are 
4  kop.  dark  blue,  and  6  kop.  vermilion,  and  the 
impression  is  on  the  flap  of  the  envelope. 

Belozersk. — The  stamp  for  this  district  is 
stated  by  the  Belgian  journal  to  be  now 
printed  on  cartridge-paper,  and  the  impres- 
sion is  said  to  be  better  than  it  used  to  be. 

Soummy. — The  same  authority  notices  a 
Soummy  5  kop.  red,  changed  in  value  to  6 
kop.  by  the  simple  expedient  of  a  pen-and-ink 
alteration  of  the  figure.  We  should  hardly 
care  to  insert  a  specimen  of  such  a  "  pro- 
visional "  stamp  unless  we  received  it  direct 
from  the  post-office,  and  hardly  then  ;  for  the 
facilities  for  manufacturing  a  supply  would 
form  an  overpowering  temptation  to  dealers 
of  a  certain  class.  The  information  quoted 
by  M.  Moens,  that  1  kop.  green,  2  kop.  blue, 
and  5  kop.  red  stamps  "have  existed,"  is 
rather  too  vague  to  be  of  any  great  value. 
Riasin. — The  2  kop.  black,  most  probably 


superseded  by  a  5  kop.,  is  now  printed  in 
gold,  copies  of  which  have  been  received  by 
M.  Moens,  who  also  notices  that  the  2  kop. 
blue  has  changed  from  pale  to  Prussian  blue, 
in  consequence  of  a  new  supply  having  been 
printed  off. 

Livonia.— Annexed  is  the  engraving  which 
arrived  too  late  for  insertion  in  our  last.  In 
reference  to  our  inability  to 
comprehend  the  change  in 
the  design,  an  esteemed 
correspondent  writes  us  that 
the  arm  grasping  a  sword 
is  no  other  than  the  coat  of 
arms  of  Wenden  ;  whereas 
the  winged  griffin,  which 
appeared  on  an  earlier  issue 
of  the  Wenden  stamps,  is  the  heraldic  device 
of  the  county  of  Livonia. 

Portuguese  Indies. — The  stamps  of  the 
Portuguese  settlements,  or  Goa  stamps,  as 
we  may  for  shortness  term  them,  are  now 
generally  admitted  to  be  genuine,  and  we 
willingly  withdraw  the  protest  which  we 
felt  called  upon  to  lodge  against  them  on 
their  first  appearance.  Their  original  de- 
scriber,  M.  Moens,  has  given  a  catalogue  of 
the  various  types,  which  we  cannot  do  better 
than  reproduce,  acknowledging  that  we 
avail  ourselves  of  the  translation  of  the  same 
already  published  by  our  Birmingham  con- 
temporary. Two  types  have  been  discovered 
and  may  briefly  be  identified  by  the  following 
distinctions  : — 

First  Series. 

First  Type. — Wove  paper,  thin,  perces  en 
points  (16)  sur  ligne  droit. 

10  reis  black, 

20     ,,  vermilion. 

900     „  bright  violet. 

Second  Type. — Same  paper  and  perforation 
as  above. 


40  reis 
100    „ 
200    „ 


dull  blue. 

green. 

olive-yellow. 


Second  Series. 

First  Type. — Wove  paper,  much  thicker, 
perf.  13 1,  square  punctures. 


154 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


10  reis 

black. 

20    „ 

vermilion. 

40    „ 

ultramarine. 

100    ., 

grass-green. 

200    „ 
300    „ 

canary. 

dark  violet-brown 

000    „ 
900    „ 

55                            5? 
55                            55 

Third  Series. 
First  Type. — Laid  paper,  perf.  13J.  square 
punctures. 

10  reis  black. 

20     „  vermilion. 

40    ,,  ultramarine. 

Our  Belgian  confrere  having  been  able  to 
complete  his  list,  after  the  examination  of  a 
supply  of  all  the  values  which  has  reached 
him  from  the  colony,  is  able  to  certify  that 
the  second  type  is  no  longer  employed  for 
any  of  the  values.  He  also  states  that  a  new 
series  is  about  to  be  issued,  the  existing  de- 
sign not  giving  entire  satisfaction.  Nothing 
indeed  could  well  be  poorer.  One  frame 
serves  for  all  the  values,  the  indicating  nu- 
merals of  which  are  afterwards  hand-struck 
in  the  centre  of  the  circle. 

Moldavia. — The  mystery  which  enveloped 
the  stamps  of  the  first  issue  of  Moldavia,  has 
been  in  a  great  measure  cleared  away  by  the 
investigations  of  collectors,  consequent  on 
the  publication  of  the  official  documents 
relative  to  this  issue,  which  appeared  first  in 
Le  Timbre-Poste,  and  which  were  laid  before 
our  readers  in  the  XVIIth  and  XVIIIth 
numbers  of  the  "  Papers  for  Beginners." 

In  No.  XIX.,  Mr.  O  very  Taylor,  in  reference 
to  the  five  types  described  by  Dr.  Magnus, 
stated  that  the  weight  of  opinion  was  in 
favour  of  the  genuineness  of  the  stamps  of 
the  first  types  on  laid  paper  ;  that  of  this  type 
and  paper  three  values  were  known,  viz.,  the 
27,  54,  and  108  paras,  and  that  the  81  paras 
was  still  to  be  discovered.  He  further  stated 
that  this  was  the  verdict  of  Mr.  Philbrick, 
"  A  Parisian  Collector,"  and  other  authorities, 
in  which  he  begged  leave  to  concur.  This 
opinion  was  furthur  confirmed  in  an  article 
by  "  A  Parisian  Collector,"  which  appeared 
in  the  February  number  of  The  Philateliccd 
Journal,  in  which  the  author  says,  ''Up  to 


the  present  time,  no  specimen  of  the  81  paras 
has  been  found  on  laid  paper,  but  we  would 
venture  to  predict  that  it  exists ;  and  our 
own  belief  is,  that  the  only  stamps  which 
formed  a  portion  of  this  issue,  are  the  27 
paras,  the  first  type  of  the  54,  the  first  type 
of  the  108,  and  the  unknown  type  of  the  81." 
The  untiring  energy  of  the  editor  of  Le 
Timbre-Poste  has  been  at  length  crowned 
with  success.  A  specimen  of  the  81  paras 
has  been  disinterred  by  him,  answering  all  the 
requirements  to  its  thorough  genuineness. 
It  is  on  laid  paper,  and  obliterated  with  the 
circular  handstamp  mentioned,  sup.-p&ge  70  ;* 
the  name  of  the  town  in  the  upper  half  being 
galatz,  and  the  date  26-9.  The  obliterating 
ink  is  of  the  same  colour  and  nature  as  that 
found  on  all  the  other  known  authentic 
specimens  of  the  27,  54,  and  108  paras  on 
laid  paper.  The  type  belongs  to  that  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Magnus  as  type  III.  We  are 
informed  that  copies  of  this  type  exist  in  the 
collections  of  Dr.  Magnus  and  Mr.  Phillrick, 
on  ordinary  plain  wove  paper ;  but  they  are 
unobliterated,  and  therefore,  if  from  the  same 
die,  of  which  we  cannot  speak  from  personal 
examination,  they  are  probably  reprints. 

New  South  Wales. — The  outline  of  a 
Kangaroo,  surmounted  by  the  letters  A.  P., 
forms  the  watermark  of  cer- 
tain penny  newspaper  bands, 
the  stamps  on  which  are  sur- 
charged "specimen,"  and  no 
one  knows  whether  this  water- 
mark is  in  use,  or  is  merely 
an  essay.  The  Philatelical 
Journal  believes  it  is  at  pre- 
sent in  use ;  but  it  rather 
oracularly  adds,  "  From  a 
circumstance  which  has  come 
to  our  knowledge,  we  think  we  may  safely 
assert  that,  if  not  current  now,  it  wTill  not  be 
used  at  all."  Our  engraving  is  less  than 
half  the  size  of  the  watermark  it  represents. 
What  can  be  the  meaning  of  the  letters  A.  P.  ? 
Do  they  stand  for  Australian  postage  ? 

Ecuador. — We  find  in  the  current  number 
of  the  Gazette  des  Timbres,  an  engraving  of  a 
new  type  for  these  stamps,  of  which  a  1  real 


*  The  word  in  the  lower  half  is  not  Moldavia,  but 
Moldova. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


155 


orange-yellow  has  already  appeared.  The 
engraving  is  exceedingly  rough,  but  whether 
intentionally,  or  not,  we  cannot  say  ;  if,  how-  I 
ever,  the  blurred  illustration  is  a  studiously  | 
exact  copy  of  the  original,  then  certainly  the 
Ecuador  authorities  have  not  gained  much 
by  the  change  of  type.  The  design  is  an 
evident  copy  of  that  of  the  Costa  Rica 
stamps.  The  arms  are  in  the  centre,  with 
the  lictorial  fasces  beneath,  in  a  foliate  frame, 
above  which  is  a  scroll,  inscribed  in  small 
letters,  correos  de  Ecuador,  and  above  that 
again  is  an  arched  label,  inscribed  porto-real, 
broken  by  the  .figure  1,  on  a  circular  disk. 
The  value  is  repeated  in  letters  on  an  hori- 
zontal label  in  the  lower  margin.  The  stamp 
is  lithographed  on  white  paper,  and  is  pique 
10J. 

United  States. — It  has  been  decided  to 
issue  post  cards,  which  are  to  make  their  ap- 
pearance on  this  1st  of  October.  They  are 
to  bear  an  impressed  one  cent  stamp,  and 
also  a  head  of  the  goddess  of  Liberty,  with 
the  legend  united  states  postal  card,  and  the 
instructions  :  "  Write  the  superscription  on 
this  side,  and  the  communication  on  the 
other."  There  is  something  rather  pedantic 
in  the  case  of  the  word  "  superscription  "  in 
this  sentence,  but  then  it  would  not  have 
done  to  have  textually  copied  the  English 
form.  The  Americans  are  no  doubt  right  in 
terming  the  card  a  "  postal  "  card  ;  the  term 
"post  card"  seems  to  us  objectionable,  and 
to  be,  in  fact,  a  verbatim  rendering  of  the  in- 
scription on  the  foreign  cards. 

Mexico. — A  six  cent  olive-green  of  the 
new  type,  on  ordinary  white  paper,  without 
any  blue  lines  on  the  back,  has  just  been 
received  at  Brussels ;  it  is  probably  not  too 
much  to  anticipate  that  the  other  values  will 
put  in  their  appearance  on  paper  without  the 
moire  back.  Possibly  the  accession  of  a  new 
president  may  give  rise  to  the  emission  of  a 
new  series ;  certes,  the  present  one,  if  with- 
drawn, will  not  be  regretted,  except  by 
collectors  who  have  failed  to  obtain  specimens. 
Philippines. — The  only  true  and  correct 
list  of  the  values  of  the  new  series  is  the 
following  : — 

6  cents  de  peseta 

16  .    ,,  „  ultramarine. 

62       „  „  lilac. 


1  peseta  25  cents  blue  on  flesh. 

2  „      50     „  rose(?) 
5       „  grey  (?) 

We  should  like  to  know  what  is  the  value 
of  the  peseta  here  referred  to. 

Mauritius. — The  Belgian  magazine  states 
that  it  has  received  intelligence  of  the 
preparation  of  two  new  envelopes,  value,  lOd. 
rose,  1/8  blue.  There  will  also  be  a  tenpence 
adhesive,  "morocco  colour  and  gold."  The 
Phllatelical  Journal  throws  doubt  on  this 
announcement,  arguing,  with  some  reason, 
that  news  of  the  intention  to  issue  these  new 
stamps  would  more  probably  come  from 
Europe  than  from  the  island. 

Prince  Edward  Island. — The  10  cents 
rose-lilac,  introduced  by  M.  Moens,  but  un- 
known to  the  postal  authorities  of  the  island, 
he  now  states  was  received  by  him  indirectly 
from  Mons.  Maury,  who  has  not  yet  come 
forward  with  any  explanation  as  to  how, 
when,  and  where  he  obtained  it.  Have  the 
forgers  of  the  4  cents  had  the  audacity  to 
invent  a  value,  and  palm  it  off  on  the  well- 
known  Parisian  dealer  as  a  veritable  issue  ? 

Roumania. — The  Roumanian  government, 
tired  of  the  lithographic  productions  of  na- 
tive artists,  has  ordered  a  set  of  engraved 
stamps  at  Paris,  and  they  are  on  the  eve  of 
making  their  appearance  ;  so  saith  that  oft- 
quoted  authority,  Le  Timore-Poste.  Mean- 
while, the  printing  off  of  the  existing  type 
has  been  arrested,  and  some  post-offices 
which  have  run  out  of  ten  bani  stamps  are 
selling  pairs  of  five  bani  in  their  stead. 

Alaska.  (Behring's  Straits). — Dr.  Magnus 
closes  his  chronicle  of  new  issues  in  the 
current  number  of  his  journal,  with  the 
following  postscript.  "  At  the  moment  of 
going  to  press,  a  trustworthy  person  informs 
us  that  he  has  learnt  from  a  traveller,  that 
a  private  post-office,  using  its  own  postage 
stamps,  exists  at  the  Russian  establishment 
of  Alaska,  to  the  south  of  Behring's  Straits. 
We  give  the  statement  under  reserve." 

Sweden. — It  is  stated  that  a  new  envelope 
and  a  new  post  card,  each  of  the  value  of 
10  ore,  will  make  their  appearance  on  the 
1st  of  January ;  if  so,  then  a  new  10  ore 
adhesive  will  also  be  required.  No  sensible 
explanation  is  yet  offered  of  the  issue  of  a  post 
card  at  the  same  price  as  the  envelope. 


156 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


Finland. — We  have  received  information 
from  a  semi-official  source,  that  new  8  penni 
post  cards  have  been  issued  with  the  inscrip- 
tions in  three  languages  (qij.,  Finnish,  Swed- 
ish, and  Russ).  These  may  fairly  be  termed 
the  polyglot  cards. 

Servia. — The  one  para  stamp  of  this 
country,  now  printed  on  thick  white  paper, 
is  no  longer  perforated.  A  fresh  emission, 
signalising  the  majority  of  the  young  prince, 
may  surely  be  anticipated. 

Orange  Free  Spate. — The  shilling  stamp, 
says  The  Philatelical  Journal,  now  comes  over 
in  a  brown-orange  shade. 

Trinidad. — We  also  learn  that  the  latest 
arrivals  of  the  shilling  stamp  for  this  colony 
are  printed  orange. 

THE   POISONED   POSTAGE    STAMPS. 

AN   AMERICAN   STORY. 

[The  following  curious  narrative  caught  our 
eye  in  a  French  paper  of  recent  date,  and 
was  doubtless  originally  translated  from 
some  American  journal.  We  translate  it 
back  into  English,  and  give  it  for  what  it 
may  be  worth]. 

Doctor  Chesley,  of  Nottingham,  New 
Hampshire,  received,  a  few  days  since,  a 
letter,  bearing  a  signature  with  which  he 
was  unacquainted,  and  enclosing  two  postage 
stamps,  accompanied  with  a  request  for  a 
prompt  reply  to  an  address  in  New  York. 
The  doctor,  thinking  he  had  unearthed  a 
client,  wrote  off  instanter  the  required  reply, 
and  stuck  on  the  envelope  one  of  the  stamps 
he  had  received.  But  no  sooner  had  he 
passed  his  tongue  across  the  gummed  back 
of  the  stamp  than  he  felt  a  sudden  qualm. 
He  immediately  tried  his  pulse,  looked  at 
his  tongue  in  the  glass,  listened  to  his  own 
breathing,  and  set  down  in  writing  the  fol- 
lowing diagnostic  : — "  Mysterious  sensation 
of  lassitude  ;  convulsive  beating  of  the  heart ; 
difficulty  in  breathing  ;  general  disturbance 
of  the  system."  Having  thus  "diagnosti- 
cated," the  doctor  called  his  wife,  and  said 
to  her, — "  My  dear  I  have  poisoned  myself 
with  this  postage  stamp." 

"  Intentionally  ?  "  she  asked. 

"No,"  he  replied.  "Involuntarily.  It 
was  sent  to  me  through  the  post,  and  I  did 
not  know  it  was  poisoned." 


"  My  dear,  it's  not  possible,"  returned  the 
wife. 

"  Not  possible,"  he  cried.  "  That's  just 
like  the  women, — well  then,  madame,  do  me 
the  favour  to  lick  the  other  postage  stamp." 
And  he  handed  her  the  second  stamp  sent. 
She  wetted  it  with  her  tongue,  and  was 
immediately  seized  with  the  same  symptoms 
as  those  of  her  husband,  but  of  a  much  more 
violent  character. 

"  There,  I  told  you  so,"  cried  the  doctor, 
triumphantly.  Then  he  felt  his  wife's  pulse, 
made  her  show  her  tongue,  applied  his  ear 
to  her  chest,  and  said,  rubbing  his  hands, 
"  You  are  much  more  severely  bitten  than 
I.  Would  you  like  to  know  how  that  hap- 
pens ?  " 

"  I  would  much  rather  that  you  saved  me," 
murmured  the  wife. 

"  Let  us  go  in  an  orderly  way  to  work," 
replied  the  doctor.  "You  must  first  learn 
why  the  symptoms  are  more  accentuated 
with  you  than  with  me  ;  secondly,  I  shall 
save  myself,  for,  having  absorbed  the  poison 
first,  it  is  but  logical  that  I  should  get  rid  of 
it  the  first.  After  that  I  will  take  you  in 
hand." 

Here  the  doctor  made  a  pause,  introduced 
his  finger  and  thumb  into  a  tobacco  pouch, 
thence  withdrew  a  pinch  of  tobacco,  and 
holding  it  under  his  wife's  nose, — "  You 
have  often  reproached  me,  madame,"  said  he, 
"  with  smoking  tobacco,  but  it  is  this  vulgar 
habit  which  you  may  thank  for  not  being 
a  widow  now,  for  the  tobacco  has  acted 
as  an  antidote — vulgarly  called  a  counter- 
poison — and  that  is  why  you  are  worse  than 
I  am." 

If  the  doctor  had  continued  a  few  minutes 
longer,  his  wife  would  have  been  lost ;  but 
he  stopped  in  time,  took  an  emetic  himself, 
and  administered  to  her  another  emetic,  and 
both  husband  and  wife  are  quite  well  to-day. 
The  suspected  stamps  have  been  sent  to 
Boston  to  be  analysed. 


A  Mechanical  Stamp  Album. — An  ingenious  Phila- 
delphia philatelist  is  about  to  appl}'  for  a  patent  for  a 
mechanical  postage-stamp  album  on  the  revolving  plan, 
which  has  two  advantages  over  the  ordinary  album, — 
self- securing,  or  a  new  method  of  holding  the  stamps 
without  gumming ;  and  a  new  plan  of  exhibiting  the 
stamps. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


157 


OCCASIONAL   NOTES. 

A  light  red  penny  Nova  Scotia  is  certainly 
a  great  rarity,  for  Mr.  S.  Allan  Taylor  says 
so,  and  who  could  doubt  his  word  ?  He 
informs  our  publishers  that  no  one  ever 
seems  to  have  seen  it  before ;  and  then  with 
a  touch  of  sarcasm,  which  is  not  without  its 
substratum  of  truth,  he  adds,  "It  would 
doubtless  be  worth  many  pounds,  if  some 
aspiring  philatelist  would  put  it  up  at 
auction."  We  do  not  think  that  Mr.  Taylor 
— philatelic  Barnum  as  he  is — expected  to 
be  able  to  palm  off  this  scarce  rarity  on  our 
publishers,  though,  perhaps,  had  he  succeeded 
with  the  trial  specimen,  more  might  have 
been  forthcoming;  but  whilst  giving  even 
Mr.  Taylor  his  due,  we  think  it  as  well  to 
hint  to  him  that  chloride  of  sodium  (common 
salt),  or  of  lime,  had  a  great  deal  more  to  do 
with  the  production  of  his  light  red  Nova 
Scotia,  than  had  the  printer  ;  in  fact, 
the  presence  of  the  chemical  can  be  de- 
tected almost  immediately  on  applying  the 
moistened  tip  of  the  tongue  to  the  stamp. 
Our  readers  also  may  take  the  hint,  and  fight 
shy  of  similar  transformations. 

REVIEWS  of  POSTAL  PUBLICATIONS. 

Catalogue  prix-cour  ant  de  Timbres-poste,  essais 
divers,  timbres-telegraphe,  timbres fiscaux,  8fc. 
Fourth  edition.  1st  part.  1872.  Brussels: 
J.  B.  Moens. 
This  publication,  when  it  arrived  at  a  third 
edition,  in  the  early  part  of  last  year,  was 
so  enlarged  as  to  embrace  essays,  telegraph, 
and  fiscal  stamps.  The  fourth  edition  now 
appears,  with  these  various  stamps  arranged 
under  the  head  of  each  country,  so  that  at 
a  glance  may  be  seen  what  each  country  has 
done,  not  only  in  postage,  but  in  other 
stamps;  and  though  still  called  a  prix-cour ant, 
it  is  in  reality  one  of  the  most  complete 
catalogues  of  postage,  telegraph,  and  fiscal 
stamps  that  has  yet  appeared.  In  former 
editions  of  this  work,  M.  Moens  had  adopted 
an  alphabetical  order  of  countries  in  each 
quarter  of  the  globe  ;  he  has  now  abandoned 
this  plan,  and  the  whole  is  arranged  alpha- 
betically, without  reference  to  the  quarter  of 
the  world  in  which  the  various  countries  are 


to  be  found.  For  our  own  part,  we  prefer 
this  mode  to  the  geographical  arrangement 
of  the  countries  adopted  by  M.  Berger- 
Levrault.  What  is  required  in  a  catalogue  is 
easy  reference  ;  and  now  that  the  number  of 
stamps  and  stamp-producing  countries  has 
so  much  increased,  simplicity  has  become 
more  than  ever  a  desideratum  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  a  catalogue. 

The  first  number,  which  embraces  A,  B,  C, 
and  a  portion  of  D,  has  come  to  hand  so  late, 
that  we  are  unable  to  give  more  than  this 
cursory  notice  of  the  work,  reserving  a 
fuller  review  of  it  until  further  advance  is 
made  towards  its  completion.  We  notice 
with  satisfaction,  that  the  perforations  are 
given  in  the  present  edition ;  and  that  the 
dates  of  issue,  as  also  the  colours,  have  been 
carefully  revised.  When  complete,  we  may 
venture  to  predict  that  it  will  be  a  great 
boon  to  philatelists  of  all  classes. 


Kpanlda  (segunda  edicion  de)  y  Klentrron 
(jprimera  edicion  de).  Cartas  Phila- 
telecas  del  Dr.  Thebussem  y  de  Don 
Eduardo  de  Maridtegui.  Madrid : 
Rivadeneyra,  1871. 

The  second  edition  of  the  quaint  and  well- 
known  Kpanhla  presents  a  considerable 
increase  in  size  on  the  first.  It  has  taken 
unto  itself  a  supplement,  entitled  "Klentrron  " 
and  consisting  of  a  letter  from  Don  E.  de 
Mariategui  to  Dr.  Thebussem.  The  sup- 
plement, we  must  avow,  is  not  of  great 
interest,  but  the  body  of  the  work  is  replete 
with  pleasant  reading.  In  fact,  it  is  just 
the  kind  of  publication  required  to  popularise 
collecting  in  the  country  in  whose  language 
it  is  written.  If  we  may  venture  to  give  a 
hint  to  its  learned  author,  it  would  be  to 
the  effect  that,  with  a  little  further  enlarge- 
ment, room  might  be  found  for  the  insertion 
of  a  chapter  which  should  recapitulate  in 
general  terms,  the  introduction  and  spread 
of  the  postal  system  and  its  concomitant 
stamps,  with  a  passing  reference  to  those 
emissions  which  illustrate,  in  an  eminent 
degree,  the  value  of  stamps  as  artistic 
products  and  historical  evidences.  It  will 
then  answer  still  more  conclusively  than  at 


158 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


present,  the  trite  query — What  is  the  use  of 
them?  and  tend  still  further  to  spread  the 
knowledge  of  philately  in  the  country  of  the 
Hidalgos. 

Of  the  new  matter  introduced  into  the 
second  edition  of  Kpanlda,  the  most  notice- 
able is  the  reference  to  the  obliteration  of 
the  surplus  stock  of  Spanish  stamps  with  a 
cross.  Dr.  Thebussem,  who  is  no  other  than 
our  old  friend  Senor  M.  de  Figueroa,  begins 
by  quoting  an  old  ordinance  of  Philip  II., 
enjoining  on  his  officials  never  to  begin  any 
letter  or  other  document  otherwise  than 
with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  nor  finish  without 
some  such  phrase  as  "  God  guard  you."  He 
then,  passing  from  the  sixteenth  to  the 
nineteenth  century,  gives  the  text  of  the  post- 
office  regulation,  dated  14th  September,  1857, 
which  requires  that  all  useless  stamps  shall 
be  marked  with  a  cross  in  black  ink.  It  is 
an  odd  rule  when  one  comes  to  think  of  it, 
and  it  would  seem  to  have  had  something  to 
do  with  the  accumulation  of  a  large  stock  of 
obsolete  issues.  Dr.  Thebussem  does  not 
quote  the  order  for  cancelling  surplus  stamps 
with  broad  printed  bars.  There  is  an 
immense  number  of  these  impressions  in  the 
market,  and  they  have  become  of  no  more 
value  than  an  ordinary  used  German  stamp. 
The  Spanish  law  against  dealing  in  postage 
stamps  does  not  operate  in  the  case  of  these 
unsightly  specimens. 

In  conclusion,  we  need  scarcely  say  that 
we  trust  this  publication  will  have  the  wide 
circulation  it  undoubtedly  merits,  for  it  is  a 
striking  evidence  in  itself  of  the  thought- 
developing  power  of  the  study  of  stamps, 
and  philatelists  may  well  be  proud  to  reckon 
the  distinguished  Spanish  savant  among 
their  ranks. 


The  master  of  one  of  the  district  post-offices  at  Ryde 
announces,  by  the  following  notice  posted  upon  his 
shutters,  his  resignation  of  the  duties  of  postmaster. 
"  Xotice. — Esplanade  Post-office. — This  office  is  closed, 
the  renumeration  of  eightpence  per  day  not  paying  work- 
ing expenses — namely,  receiving  and  despatching  letters 
and  newspapers,  issuing  post-office  orders,  transacting 
savings-bank  business,  and  issuing  dog  and  gun  liceuses ; 
for  which  sum  we  had  to  find  string,  blotting-paper,  pens, 
red  and  blue  ink,  gas,  and  14  hours  a  day  constant 
attendance,  from  seven  a.m.  till  nine  p.m., "find  office 
room,  and  fit  up  the  office  at  our  own  expense.  The 
brass  plates  for  newspapers  to  be  sold  cheap.  Inquire 
within.  — Joel  Hearder." 


CORRESPOXDEXCE. 

THE  SURCHARGING  OX  THE  MEXICAN  STAMPS. 

To  the  Editor  of  "  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Sir, — I  have  a  specimen  of  the  8  reales  violet,  or  lilac, 
first  issue  Mexican,  surcharged  ori?aba.  It  also  has  an 
oblong  mark  impressed  in  black — de  corkeos  tav  ;  the 
remainder  is  not  on  the  stamp.  I  have  not  noticed  this 
in  any  of  the  lists. 

Yours  faithfullv, 

W.  M.  COLLES. 


WHAT  IS  A  POSTAGE  STAMP? 
To  the  Editor  of  "lav  Stamp- Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — How  would  some  such  definition  as  the 
following  meet  the  query  heading  Mr.  Taylor's  article  in 
your  last  number  ? 

Postage  stamps  are  marks  attached,  in  various  ways  (by 
means  of  adhesive  labels,  envelopes,  wrappers,  hand- 
stamping,  and  so  on),  to  letters,  cards,  circulars,  news- 
papers, packets,  &c,  and  signifying — with  respect  to  the 
cost  of  transit  of  such  through  the  post  office — one  of  three 
things  : — 

a. — That  a  certain  payment  (including  registration  and 
too-late  fees)  has  been  made  beforehand  towards  defraying 
said  cost. 

b. — That  a  certain  payment  is  expected  to  be  made  on 
delivery. 

c. — That  the  letter,  packet,  &c,  is,  for  some  reason  or 
other,  carried  free  of  charge. 

I  confess  that  to  me  anything  included  in  the  above 
seems  worthy  of  being  called  a  "postage  stamp." 
"Whether  all  such  should  be  collected  is  quite  another 
matter.  Let  each  one  choose  his  own  standard,  and  then 
be  consistent.       . 

Can  you  (or  any  of  your  correspondents)  give  me  any 
information  about  the  Italian  magazines  alluded  to  in 
The  Stamp- Collector's  Magazine,  vol.  ii  ,  p.  141,  vol.  i\\, 
p.  128?  The  progress  of  philatelic  literature  in  Italy 
seems  to  have  been  oveidooked  by  writers  on  the  subject. 
I  have  noticed  one  inference  to  it  elsewhere,  but  cannot 
lay  my  hands  on  the  passage.  The  TimbrophUixt,  too, 
advertised  by  Van  Rinsum,  in  1869,  as  "  published 
monthly  in  the  Dutch  language,"  I  have  never  seen  men- 
tioned in  any  English  magazine. 

Yours  faithfully, 

Inverness.  P.  I.  A. 


To  the  Editor  of  "The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — Under  the  above  heading,  Mr.  Overy 
Taylor  draws  attention  to  those  various  auxiliaries  of 
postage  stamps  proper,  that,  either  by  intent  or  acci- 
dent, have  come  to  be  accepted  by  almost  every  postage 
stamp  collector.  As  Mr.  Taylor  invites  the  serious  atten- 
tion of  his  readers  to  this  subject,  I  feel  sure  he  will  not 
object  to  my  criticism  of  his  statements,  particularly  as  in 
many  points  Mr.  Taylor's  views  and  my  own  are  identical. 

Mr.  Taylor  divides  his  remarks  under  the  following 
heads  :— (1)  official ;  (2)  unpaid  letter  ;  (3)  returned  let- 
ter; (4)  registration  and  too-late;  (5)  newspaper  im- 
pressed stamps.  Each  of  these  subjects  I  will  discuss  in 
their  due  order. 

Offical  Stamps. — My  opinion  concerning  these 
impressions  is  given  at  p.  177  of  your  last  volume.  My 
list,  then  commenced,  was  written  purely  upon  a  point  of 
consistency  ;  for  I  said  then,  as  I  repeat  now,  that  if  we  take 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


159 


the  aclhesives  we  must,  to  be  reasonable,  also  take  the 
impressed.  Mr.  Tajdor  advises  the  rejection  of  official 
stamps  altogether,  and  to  a  certain  extent  I  feel  bound  to 
agree  with  him.  Collectors  never  will  discard  the  Danish 
and  Spanish  officials,  or  the  Indian  "service;"  but  let 
them  follow  Mr.  Taylor's  advice  todceep  them  "  quite 
apart  from  postage  stamps  proper." 

Unpaid-Letter  Stamps. — Mr.  Taylor's  argument  in 
favour  of  keeping  these  labels  is  logical,  and  one  that  cer- 
tainly had  not  occurred  to  me.  Here  again,  however,  the 
old  difficulty  of  adhesive  versus  handstamped  comes  to  the 
fore.  Granted  "that  although  you  cannot  buy  an  unpaid 
letter  stamp  you  have  to  pay  for  it ;  "  if  for  that  reason 
you  accept  these  labels,  how  about  those  handstruck  im- 
pressions that  you  also  had  to  pay  for  ?  If  Great  Britain 
uses  a  large  impressed  figure,  or  a  mere  pen-mark  to 
show  what  is  to  be  paid  by  the  receiver,  and  France  uses 
a  label  for  the  same  purpose,  must  the  mere  accident  (as 
it  were)  of  the  latter  countiy  using  an  adhesive  stamp 
prevent  us  from  placing  in  our  albums  the  device  adopted 
by  Great  Britain  ?  It  might  be  argued,  that  if  we  confine 
ourselves  solely  to  adhesive  unpaid-letter  labels,  then  must 
we,  to  be  consistent,  reject  all  postage  stamps  that  are  not 
adhesive.  Such  an  idea,  however,  can  never  have  any 
existence,  except  in  theory. 

Returned-Letter  Stamps. — These  are  upon  an 
equality  with  the  official  stamps,  and  if  we  accept  one 
class  we  must  accept  the  other ;  or,  if  we  rej  ect  one  we  must 
reject  the  other.  I  consider  them  quite  out  of  place  in  a 
postage-stamp  album,  and  if  taken,  they  should  (with  the 
officials)  occupy  a  book  to  themselves.  The  only  adhe- 
sives  are  the  many  varieties  of  Bavarian,  and  the  one 
for  Wurtemburg.  Many  of  the  former  are  very  common- 
place, and  nearly  all  one  sees  of  the  latter  are  forged . 

Registration  and  Too-late  Stamps.— These  have 
been  adopted  by  the  following  countries  ■ — 


Registration. 


Too-late. 


German  Confederation. 

„       Empire. 
Prussia. 
New  Granada. 
New  South  Wales. 
Queensland. 
United  States. 
Victoria. 
Victoria. 
Trinidad. 


Of  these,  were  not  those  of  oar  colonies  sold  to  the  public, 
and  by  them  affixed  to  the  letters  ?  If  so,  their  collect- 
able value  is  at  once  settled.  That  the  registration 
stamps  of  New  Granada  were  issued  to  the  public  I  am 
almost  certain;  therefore,  the  only  ones  that  are  known 
as  used  solely  by  the  authorities,  are  the  Prussian,  Ger- 
man, and  the  lately  emitted  label  of  the  United  States. 
As  to  the  Trinidad  "too-late,"  I  will  give  no  opinion; 
but  as  all  the  stamps  alluded  to  above  (except  these  and 
that  of  the  United  States)  show  that  a  certain  amount 
ha*  been  paid  by  the  sender,  I  consider  them  collectable. 

Before  I  enter  upon  the  subject  of  newspaper  stamps, 
let  me  give  my  philatelical  creed.  I  believe  in  accepting 
for  a  postage-stamp  collection  all  labels,  envelopes,  or 
cards  issued  to  the  public — no  matter  whether  by  govern- 
ments or  by  private  individuals— for  the  prepayment  of 
correspondence.  I  also  accept  all  labels  or  bands  for 
newspapers  or  printed  matter  issued  by  government  post- 
offices,  or  offices  existing  under  authority  of  any  govern- 
ment. By  this  rule  respecting  printed-matter  stamps, 
Ave  can  ignore  a  lot  of  things  that  are  "  neither  fish  nor 
fowl,  nor  good  red  herring,"  as  the  old  saying  has  it. 

Among  others,  I  place  upon  the  index  expurgatorius 


the  numerous  British  locals,  and  the  railway  newspaper 
stamps  of  this  and  other  countries.  In  passing,  I  may 
condemn  the  collecting  of  the  Austrian  newspaper-tax 
labels,  as  they  were  merely  fiscal,  and  neither  prepaid  the 
papers  to  which  they  were  attached,  nor  showed  that  the 
postal  authorities  had  made  any  extra  charge.  The  violet 
French  journal  stamps  are  equally  valueless  to  collectors. 

Newspaper  Impressed  Stamps. — I  am  not  aware 
that,  with  the  exception  of  the  Tuscany,  any  impressed 
newspaper  stamps  but  our  own  were  ever  available  for 
postal  purposes.  Although  Mr.  Taylor  is  quite  correct  in 
saying  that  our  impressed  stamps  lost  all  their  franking 
powers  fifteen  days  after  the  date  of  their  emission,  still 
they  did  prepay  newspapers  through  the  post,  and,  there- 
fore, they  became  postage  stamps.  These  impressed 
stamps  are  still  used  by  The  Times  and  Stamford  Mer- 
cury, and  they  are  always  obliterated,  like  other  stamps, 
so  how  can  we  refuse  to  take  them  ?  Certainly,  they  are 
not  issued  to  the  public  in  one  sense,  yet  they  are  in 
another.  Anyhow,  they  are  not  used  by  the  post-office, 
and  the  public  pays  for  them  before  they  are  posted,  and 
without  the  mediation  of  the  postal  authorities. 

I  have  strung  a  few  ideas  together,  making  my  remarks 
as  compact  as  possible,  but  the  subject  of  "What  is  a 
postage  stamp  ? "  is  so  intricate  that  I  fear  I  have 
scarcely  done  j  ustice  to  it  in  a  letter. 

Yours  faithfully, 

Birmingham.  W.  DUDLEY  ATLEE. 

[The  assertion  of  our  esteemed  correspondent  seems  to  us  too  large, 
when  he  states  that  the  impressed  stamps  on  newspap  ts  did  prepay  them 
through  the  post,  and  therefore  became  postage  stamps.  The  stamps 
impressed  at  present  on  newspapers  are  tor  the  purpose  of  postage; 
but  previously  to  the  abolition  of  the  duties  on  newspapers,  every  news- 
paper was  compelled  to  bear  an  excise  stamp.  The  sheet  thus  stamped 
enjoyed  immunity  from  postage  during  a  certain  period  from  the  date  of 
publication,  not  from  the  fact  of  its  being  stamped,  but  from  the  tact  of 
its  being  a  newspaper.— Ed  ] 


THE  PETERSBURG    STAMP:    FURTHER   REPLY 
OF  MR.   COSTER. 

To  theEiitorof  "The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

De\r  Sir, — I  regret  to  be  obliged  to  trespass  further 
on  your  space  concerning  a  subject  on  which  I  know 
Mr.Peniberton's  opinion  to  be  at  variance  with  that  of  the 
great  majority  of  stamp  collectors.  However,  Mr.  Pember- 
ton's  reply  ( The  Philatelical  Journal,  p.  133)  to  my  letters 
in  your  July  and  August  numbers  is  not-  of  a  kind  that  I  can 
let  pass  unnoticed,  seeing  that  he  endeavours  to  support 
the  erroneous  arguments  that  he  has  already  advanced, 
not  by  bringing  up  any  kind  of  evidence  in  rebuttal  of 
such  facts  as  I  have  already  referred  to,  but  rather  by 
selecting  parts  of  sentences  from  my  letters,  whose  true 
meaning  is  lost  from  their  being  unaccompanied  by  the 
context ;  and  even  these  selections  he  has  so  twisted  and 
turned  to  suit  his  own  purposes  as  to  render  them  almost 
impossible  of  recognition. 

In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Pemberton  points  out,  at  some 
length,  that  in  my  July  letter  I  state  that  I  had  "ascertained 
that  the  Petersburg  stamp  was  not  issued  until  some  time 
in  the  latter  half  of  1861,  and  one  of  the  clerks  employed 
in  the  Petersburg  post  office  says  that  it  was  used  until  the 
Confederate  5  c.  stamp  of  De  La  Rue  &  Co.  arrived,  say, 
about  May,  1862,"  and  that  in  August  I  said  that  the 
"  Petersburg  stamp  was  not  issued  until  March,  1862." 
This  is  all  very  true  ;  but  why  did  not  Mr.  Pemberton  also 
quote  the  very  decided  qualification  that  accompanied  the 
above  extract  in  my  July  letter,  viz.  :  "Although  I  have 
every  reason  for  believing  that  the  dates  (i.e.,  of  issue  and 
withdrawal),  as  given  by  me,  are  correct,  I  shall  still 
continue  to  investigate  this  point."     It  is  clear  that  I  did 


160 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


not  fix  "the  latter  half  of  1861  "  as  the  exact  date,  but 
only  as  approaching  the  exact  date  of  issue  as  nearly  as  I 
could  then  arrive  at — else  why  should  I  have  promised  to 
further  investigate  the  matter  ?  "Well,  as  the  result  of 
such  further  investigation,  I  found  out  that  the  stamp 
was  issued  early  in  1862,  as  set  forth  in  my  communi- 
cation of  August.  I  cannot  find  any  contradiction  on  my 
part  here,  seeing  that  I  gave  the  date  of  1861  with  all 
possible  reserve. 

Mr.  Pemberton  then  says,  that  after  having  stated,  in 
July,  that  the  stamp  "  was  not  issued  until  some  time  in 
the*  latter  half  of  1861,"  I  said  in  August  that  I  found 
"  little  or  no  chance  of  obtaining  any  clue  to  the  date  of 
issue  until,"  &c,  &c.  If  Mr.  P.  will  kindly  read  the 
paragraph  in  my  letter  from  which  the  above  is  extracted, 
he  will  perceive  that  it  was  not  the  date  of  issue,  but  the 
exact  date  of  issue,  to  which  the  paragraph  in  question 
alluded. 

He  next  compares  six  "assertions"  made  by  me  in 
July  with  seven  that  I  made  in  August.  They  all  hinge 
upon  the  supposition  that  I  deny  in  August  positive  asser- 
tions that  I  made  in  July  as  "to  the  date  of  issue ;  but 
having  settled  that  point  as  above  they  all  fall  to  the 
ground.  By  the  way,  Mr.  Pemberton's  "fact,  assertion, 
comment,  or  whatever  it  is,"  numher  4,  speaks  of  May, 
1863 ;  I  presume  he  means  May,  1862. 

But  I  have  said  quite  enough  as  to  the  date  of  issue, 
which  is,  after  all,  a  minor  point,  and  not  the  ground  on 
which  Mr.  P.  based  his  ai-gument  as  to  the  "  abominable 
swindle,"  &c.  His  main  point  was  that  certain  hand- 
writings were  fictitious.  "Well,  I  produced  abundant  evi- 
dence from  Mr.  J.  D.  Young,  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  to  prove 
that  Mr.  Pemberton  was  in  error.  In  his  journal  for  July 
Mr.  Pemberton  throws  out  insinuations  amounting  to  as 
much  as  saying  that  he  believes  Mr.  Young  to  have  been 
employed  for  the  occasion  to  do  what  is  called  "cook  up 
facts,"  and  then  even  went  so  far  as  to  declare  that  he  did 
not  believe  in  Mr.  Young's  existence  at  all.  He  does  not 
even  pretend  to  produce  any  kind  of  evidence  or  argument 
to  sustain  these  outrageous  insinuations,  for  the  very  plain 
reason  that  he  could  not  possibly  do  so.  In  August, 
writing  on  the  same  subject  (viz.,  the  genuine  character 
of  the  addresses  on  five  envelopes),  all  the  reply  he  makes 
is :  "  We  stated  in  April  that  these  spurious  Petersburg 
stamps  formed  '  one  of  the  cleverest,  but  most  abominable 
swindles  of  recent  days.'  To  that  statement  we  are  pre- 
pared to  abide,  and  decline  to  accept  Mr.  Coster's  expla- 
nations as  in  any  way  altering  our  expressed  opinion  that 
the  specimens  of  type  II.,  varieties  1,  2,  3,  and  4  are 
quite  spurious." 

If  "  declining  to  accept,"  &c,  is  to  be  considered 
as  argument,  I  may  as  well  give  up  ;  but  I  scarcely  think 
that  the  stamp-collecting  fraternity  will  accept  it  as  such. 
But  to  return  to  the  questions  of  Mr.  Young's  existence 
and  veracity.  His  existence  I  have  already  proven  most 
effectually,  and  I  think  that  the  accompanying  certificate 
from  the  British  Vice  Consul  at  Richmond  settles  the 
latter  point  (and,  indeed,  the  former  also)  beyond  the 
Bhadow  of  a  doubt.  It,  therefore,  seems  to  me  that  it  is 
time  for  the  "  infallible  "  (?)  Mr.  Pemberton  to  play  that 
"  last  trump  card  "  to  which  he  so  mysteriously  alludes, 
and  which  he  appears  to  have  heretofore  kept  tucked  in  his 
sleeve,  therein  imitating  the  immortal  "heathen  Chinee." 

Of  course  Mr.  P.  could  not  resist  the  temptations  to  cast 

a  few  slurs  on  Mr.  Steinback,  and  Mr.  H N (not 

Mr.  H "W ,  as  Mr.  Pemberton  writes),  but,  it  seems 

to  me,  that  if  he  can  find  no  other  way  of  weakening  Mr. 
Steinback' s  statement,  it  will  not  suffer  much  harm. 
Although  the  regulation  of  the  Petersburg  post-office  may 
appear  very  arbitrary  and  absurd,  I  may  mention  that  a 


very  similar  rule  exists  here  in  regard  to  the  government 
agencies  for  the  sale  of  revenue  stamps.  Many  of  these 
agencies  are  prohibited  from  selling  more  than  $  5  or  $  10 
(as  the  limitation  may  be  fixed)  to  any  one  person  at  one 
time.  Should  any  one  desire  to  purchase  a  larger  quan- 
tity, all  he  has  to  do  is  to  buy,  say,  $5  or  $10  worth  at 
first,  then  leave  the  store  and  return  and  repeat  the  pur- 
chase, and  so  on,  until  he  has  purchased  the  requisite 
quantity.  So  the  regulation  of  the  Petersburg  post- 
office  does  not  appear  so  very  improbable,  after  all. 
Apparently,  Mr.  Pemberton  has  never  heard  of  such  a 
thing  as  wishing  to  "test  a  point,"  though  it  does  not 
seem  beyond  the  bounds  of  possibility,  not  to  say  proba- 
bility, that  such  might  have  been  Mr.  Nelson's  object. 

With  regard  to  Mr.  Pemberton's  query — "Who  is  Mr. 
Campbell  ?  "  the  note  from  Mr.  Young  that  I  forwarded 
to  the  editor  of  this  magazine  (for  the  purpose  of  exami- 
nation) with  my  letter,  which  will  probably  appear  in  the 
September  number,  contained  that  information,  so  that  I 
must  await  its  return  before  giving  an  answer. 

Begging  leave  to  refer  to  the  accompanying  note  from 
Mr.  Young, 

I  remain, 

Yours  very  trulv, 
New  York.  CHAS.   H.   COSTER. 

[The  letter  referred  toby  Mr.  Coster,  and  still  in  our  hands,  states  that 
Mr.  Campbell  was  "formerly  an  owner,  or  part-owner,  of  The  Daily 
Progress  newspaper,  published  in  Petersburg,  before  and  during  the 
war."— Ed.] 

[Letter  forivar  ded  through  Mr.  Coster  ] 
To  the  Editor  o/"The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Sir,— Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Chas.  H.  Coster, 
I  am  offered  the  opportunity  of  defending  myself,  in  your 
columns,  against  the  gratuitous  comments  that  The 
Philatelical  Journal  is  pleased  to  make  with  reference  to 
myself,  in  connection  with  the  Petersbui-g  stamp. 

I  believe  that  I  cannot  better  accomplish  my  object  than 
by  inviting  the  attention  of  your  readers  to  the  certificate 
of  the  British  Vice  Consul  at  Richmond,  appended  to  this 
note. 

I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  all  infor- 
mation that  I  furnished  Mr."  Coster  was  derived  from  re- 
sponsible parties,  in  a  position  to  know  the  particulars  of 
the  matter  in  question. 

It  is  both  difficult  and  painful,  in  this  case,  to  reply  to 
the  aspersions  on  my  character  and  standing  ;  but  I  trust 
that  the  method  I  have  adopted  will  prove  satisfactory. 
I  am,  Sir, 

With  high  consideration, 

Your  obedient  Servant, 

Petersburg,  Va.  JOHN  D.  YOUNG. 

[Copy.] 
British  Vice  Consulate, 

Kichmond,  August  12th,  1872. 

This  is  to  certify,  that  from  information  of  the  most  satis- 
factory character,  lam  convinced  that  Mr.  John  D.  Young, 
of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  R.  A.  Young  &  Bros.,  of  Petersburg, 
Virginia  (a  mercantile  house  of  high  respectability),  is  a 
gentleman  of  integrity,  whose  character  and  reputation 
among  the  community  in  which  he  has  resided  during  his 
whole  lifetime,  are  such  as  to  forbid  anyone  from  enter- 
taining the  idea  that  he  could  be  guilty  of  a  fraud,  or  im- 
position of  any  kind. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  of  office  at  the  city  of 
Richmond,  on  this  12th  day  of  August,  1872. 

(Signed)        WILLIAM   MARSHALL, 

British  Vice  Consul. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


161 


OUR   CONTEMPORARIES. 

[Emissions  noticed  in  the  present  Article: — 
New  Granada —  Wurtemburg — Spain — Cuba — 1'hilip- 
p  in  es —  Tin  ited  Sta  tes. 

The  Philatelist  for  October  is  Unusually  rich 
in  novelties.  It  contains  the  first  notice  of 
the  new  stamps  for  Jamaica,  Mauritius,  New- 
Zealand,  Bermuda,  Chili,  and  Great  Britain, 
besides  other  items  of  interest.  "  A  few 
Words  on  the  Stamps  of  New  Granada " 
forms  the  title  of  an  able  article  by 
"Warden,"  of  which  a  continuation  is  pro- 
mised. The  subject  of  this  first  instalment 
is  the  true  chronological  order  of  the  first 
three  issues.  An  American  writer  of  note 
argues  that  the  large   rectangles    inscribed 

ESTADOS  UNIDOS  DE  NDEVA  GRANADA,  should, 

contrary  to  the  received  order,  come  first; 
"  Warden  "  is  able  to  prove,  as  the  result  of 
careful  research,  that  these  stamps  are  pro- 
perly catalogued  as  forming  the  third  series. 
His  proof  is  as  follows:  On  the  15th  June, 
1868,  a  complete  readjustment  of  the  rela- 
tions of  the  different  parts  of  New  Granada 
to  each  other  was  brought  about  by  a  new 
constitution,  which  substituted  the  federal 
for  the  provincial  system.  The  republic  of 
New  Granada,  consisting  of  thirty-six  pro- 
vinces, was  changed  into  the  Granadine 
Confederation  of  eight  states,  viz.,  Antioquia, 
Bolivar,  Boyaca,  Cauca,  Cundinamarca,  Mag- 
dalena,  Panama,  and  Santander.  Under  the 
Granadine  Confederation  the  first  two  issues 
appeared — without  stars,  be  it  noted.  Whilst 
they  were  in  use  a  split  in  the  confederation 
took  place,  which  ultimately  led  to  the  hold- 
ing of  a  congress,  and  this  congress  resulted 
in  "  a  reunion  under  the  name,  *  United 
States  of  New  Granada ; '  since  September 
20th,  1861,  changed  to  that  of  United  States 
of  Colombia;  "  and  it  was  after  this  reunion 
that  the  large  rectangles  were  issued.  The 
existence  of  nine  stars,  signifying  nine  states, 
is  explained  by  the  fact  that  Cundinamarca 
was  then  subdivided  into  two  states,  Tolima 
and  Cundinamarca,  as  at  present  known. 
"  Warden"  further  concludes  that,  as  regards 
the  two  first  series,  "the  confed.  granadina, 
large  figure,  were  issued  in  the  latter  half  of 
1858,  or  early  in  1859,  and  were  shortly  fol- 
lowed by   the  small-figure  set;     these    last 

VOL.  X.     No.  US. 


being  not  improbably  the  issue  of  a  rival  post- 
office,  started  for  convenience'  sake  during 
the  troubles  which  temporarily  divided  the 
confederation."  This  brief  analysis  does  but 
scant  justice  to  the  article,  which  contains 
other  arguments,  drawn  from  the  postmarks, 
&c,  to  which  we  have  not  space  to  refer. 

Following  this  paper  comes  the  conclusion 
of  the  carefully  written  monograph  on  "  The 
Envelopes  of  Germany,"  by  "A  Parisian  Col- 
lector," the  later  Wurtemburg  series  forming 
the  subject  of  investigation.  Incidentally, 
an  explanation  is  afforded  of  the  difficulty  of 
procuring  money-order  envelopes  which  have 
passed  the  post.  It  appears  they  bear  a 
form  of  receipt,  which  has  to  be  signed  by 
the  receiver,  who  then  has  to  hand  them 
back  to  the  postman.  In  "The  Spud  Papers  " 
the  counterfeits  of  the  Philippine  and  Cuban 
stamps  of  1864,  and  those  of  the  Austrian 
Mercury  are  commented  on.  The  article  on 
"  Telegraph  Stamps  "  contains  a  descriptive 
list  of  the  Spanish  and  Cuban  emissions. 
The  former,  though  begun  only  in  1864, 
already  number  thirty-three  varieties  ;  whilst 
the  Cuban,  started  in  1870,  amount  to 
eighteen.  "  The  Philatelic  Press  ;"  a  reprint 
of  our  analysis  of  the  forgery  of  the  new  4  c. 
Prince  Edward  Island;  "Postal  Scraps;" 
and  "  The  Editor's  Letter  Box,"  complete  a 
very  readable  number. 

Le  Timbre-Poste  has  a  heavy  list  of  new 
issues,  extending  through  more  than  half 
the  number.  The  remainder  is  occupied 
with  an  article  on  "Old  Swiss  Stamps," 
which  we  purpose  reproducing  in  these 
pages  :  a  short  paper  on  "  The  Telegraph 
Stamps  of  British  India ;  "  a  further  instal- 
ment of  Dr.  Magnus's  exhaustive  paper  on 
"  Stamped  Envelopes ; "  and  a  reply  to  our 
own  observations  respecting  the  alleged  dis- 
covery of  a  series  of  stamps  for  the  Philip- 
pines, issued  in  1848.  We  cannot  but  felici- 
tate ourselves  on  the  result  of  our  request 
for  further  information,  for  it  has  drawn 
from  our  confrere  an  explanation  which  places 
the  authenticity  of  the  stamps  in  question 
beyond  all  doubt.  We  can  only  regret  that 
he  did  not  give  us,  in  the  first  place,  the 
particulars  he  now  vouchsafes,  viz.,  that  his 
correspondent  holds  an  official  position  in 
the    Philippines,    is    personally    acquainted 


162 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


with  Don  Gutierrez,  the  postmaster  by  whom 
the  stamps  were  issued,  and  obtained  from 
hrim  the  information  which  has  been  pub- 
lished, that  Don  Gutierrez  has  promised  to 
procure  a  series  of  the  stamps,  and  that  when 
the  said  stamps  are  sent  over  they  will  be 
accompanied  by  justificatory  documents. 
We  regret  also  that  our  contemporary  should 
have  considered  our  remarks  as  intended  to 
throw  the  least  blame  or  discredit  upon  him. 
They  were  not  written  with  the  intention  or 
expectation  of  giving  him  pain — we  thought 
we  had  made  that  clear, — but  simply  because 
even  M.  Moens,  in  spite  of  his  long  experience, 
is  still  liable  to  be  deceived,  as  he  was  in  the 
matter  of  the  Kissingen  and  Leitmeritz 
stamps.  M.  Moens  charges  us  with  not 
having  had  the  frankness  to  admit  we  were 
wrong  in  condemning  the  stamps  of  the 
Portuguese  Indies ;  but  in  our  September 
number — a  month  before  the  appearance  of 
this  unmerited  reproach — we  had  made  the 
amende  honorable.  However,  passing  over  the 
slight  acerbity  of  his  reply,  we  await  the 
arrival  of  the  1847  series,  which,  alas  !  will  go 
to  swell  the  number  of  unattainable  rarities. 
Allgemelner  Briefmarken-Anzeiger. — Of  this 
publication,  Xos.  22  and  24  are  now  be- 
fore us,  dated,  respectively,  the  loth  August 
and  loth  September.  It  is  published  at 
Hamburg,  and  contains  descriptions  of  new 
issues,  articles,  and  intelligence  as  to  the 
state  of  the  stamp  markets.  There  is  a 
stamp  bourse,  or  exchange,  at  Hamburg,  and 
we  learn  that  on  the  11th  September  a  fair 
business  was  done,  there  being  a  good  attend- 
ance, in  spite  of  the  bad  weather.  The  ex- 
change is  opan  two  evenings  per  week,  from 
eight  to  ten,  and,  as  the  addresses  of  the 
places  of  meeting  are  given,  we  presume  it 
is  held  under  cover.  There  is  also  a  phila- 
telic club,  which  the  editor  takes  care  to  in- 
form a  correspondent  certainly  does  exist,  and 
for  which  the  entrance  fee  is  twelve  groschen. 
Agaiu  :  at  Bremen  and  Lubeck  there  are 
stamp  exchanges,  and  reports  of  the  business 
done  are  published  in  this  paper.  In  the 
literary  portion  we  find  reviews  of  contem- 
poraries, notices  of  new  stamps,  and  sundry 
chatty  articles.  Dr.  Magnus  is  taken  to 
task  for  being  satirical  on  the  German  phila- 
telic congress.     It  is  not  generous  of  him,  says 


our  Hamburg  confrere,  to  poke  fun  at  them 
in  that  way ;  he  would  do  better  to  trans- 
late the  German  newspapers,  and  thereby 
acquaint  himself  with  the  scope  of  the 
congress.  Nevertheless,  there  is  evidently 
no  bitterness  in  the  rejoinder,  for  the 
next  sentence  contains  a  gratuitously  in- 
serted announcement,  that  the  subscrip- 
tion to  the  Gazette  des  Timbres  may  be 
lodged  at  any  post- office  in  Germany.  In 
another  paragraph  we  get  a  notice  of  the 
evil  doings  of  a  certain  M.  Ernest  Stoltze, 
junior,  of  Brunswick — no  doubt  a  stamp 
forger  or  swindler, — who  has  gone  away  to 
Bohemia,  leaving  his  hotel  bills  nnpaid. 
Altogether  this  Hamburg  journal  has  an 
earnest,  business-like  air  about  it.  It  would 
not  be  German  if  it  were  not  practical,  and 
in  gregariousness  the  German  philatelists 
outdo  us.  The  collectors  of  Lubeck  have 
formed  themselves  into  a  club,  and  our 
Hamburg  friend  tells  us  that  the  merry 
fellows  intend  getting  up  little  suppers 
during  the  winter. 

The  American  Journal  of  Philately. — "  One 
only  gets  angry  at  the  truth  "  is  an  old 
saying.  Oar  contemporary,  struck  with  the 
justice  of  our  critique  on  his  recent  review 
of  Mr.  Scott's  album,  attributes  it  to 
malevolence.  What  a  world  of  truth  there 
must  have  been  in  our  observations  !  Then, 
unable  otherwise  to  escape  from  the  dilemma 
in  which  ho  was  placed  by  our  discovery  of 
two  directly  contradictory  assertions  in  a 
recent  number  ("  But  few  amateurs  collect 
locals,"  and,  "  Locals  are  collected  by  most 
amateurs  '"],  he  explains  them  by  stating  that 
the  latter  was  written  by  Mr.  Scott,  and  the 
former  by  the  soi-disant  editor,  Mr.  Turner. 
Ah,  that  convenient  Mr.  Turner!  We  perceive 
now  for  what  a  wise  purpose  he  was  invented  ! 
Still,  we  hope  he  will  avoid  contradicting  his 
author  and  publisher  in  such  a  point-blank 
style,  and  permit  us  seriously  to  assure  the 
latter  that  his  unwarranted  ascription  of 
unworthy  motives  on  our  part,  will  not 
prevent  us  from  impartially  reviewing  his 
journal,  and  praising  or  blaming  its  contents, 
as  truth  may  require.  This  much  established, 
we  have  pleasure  in  complimenting  Mr.  Scott 
on  the  readableness  of  his  current  number, 
which    contrasts    very    favourably    with    its 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


163 


immediate  predecessors.  The  continuation 
of  Mr.  Tiffany's  article  on  the  stamps  of  New 
Granada,  contains  a  careful  analysis  of  the 
18G3  series,  and  closes  with  the  following 
sensible  remarks  on  reprints  in  general, 
apropos  of  the  reimpressions  of  the  series 
under  discussion. 

A  reprint  made  and  issued  by  the  authors  of  the 
original,  and  with  the  original  die,  plate,  or  stone,  may 
serve,  in  its  representative  character,  to  fill  the  place  of  a 
rare  original  temporarily,  and,  without  assuming  to  be 
other  than  it  is,  in  some  measure  complete  the  historical 
interest  of  a  collection  ;  but  even  then  it  is  only 
as  a  nearer  approximation  that  it  is  of  more  value 
than  a  well-executed  forgery  or  illustration.  But  when, 
by  a  transfer  from  the "  die,  or  from  the  imprint 
thereof,  a  so-called  reprint  is  attempted,  whether  officially 
or  by  irresponsible  parties,  for  the  benefit  of  collectors, 
the  perpetrator  has  produced  only  a  counterfeit,  devoid  even 
of  the  timbro-maniacal  apology,  that  "  it  shows  the  latest 
state  of  the  die,"  and  whoever  attempts  to  pass  it  off  as  an 
original,  attempts  a  forger}'. 

To  Mr.  Tiffany's  article  succeeds  "  Papers 
for  Purchasers— No.  1.,"  by  "  H.  J.  R.," 
which  forms  the  preface  to  a  projected  series 
of  articles  descriptive  of  forgeries,  and  is 
written  in  a  pleasant,  chatty  style.  We 
fear  the  value  of  descriptions  of  counterfeits 
is  overrated ;  still,  we  wish  the  writer  suc- 
cess in  his  endeavours  to  serve  the  good 
cause. 

The  S  tamp- C  'Rector's  Guide  is  a  well- 
conducted  little  paper,  published  in  New 
Jersey  ;  and  the  fact  of  its  having  reached  its 
tenth  number,  is  indicative  of  its  possessing 
a  certain  support.  The  printing  is  good,  and 
the  illustrations  effective.  In  the  last  num- 
ber is  given  the  following  interesting  ex- 
planation (copied  from  an  American  daily 
paper)  of  the  delay  which  has  occurred  in 
the  issue  of  post  cards  for  the  United  States. 

The  opinion  of  Attorney-General  Williams,  on  Saturday 
—in  which  he  decides  that  the  Postmaster-general  had  no 
authority  under  the  new  postal  code  to  contract  for  postal 
cards,  there  being  no  specific  appropriation  made  for  that 
purpose,  and  he  having,  therefore,  no  warrant  for  using 
other  appropriations— was  brought  about,  it  is  said,  by  a 
quarrel  among  certain  engraving  companies,  who  allege 
that  the  whole  postal  card  business  was  a  job  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  National  Bank  Note  Company.  It  is  known 
that  the  sample  card  which  was  adopted  by  the  depart- 
ment was  got  up  by  the  National  Bank  Note  Company  of 
New  York,  and  that  the  Department  was  in  the  act  of 
issuing  an  advertisement  asking  for  bids  for  furnishing 
the  card  like  the  sample,  to  be  opened  in  a  time  so  short 
that  no  company  could  prepare  a  sample  to  accompany  its 
bid.  Thus  it  is  claimed  the  National  Bank  Note  Com- 
pany being  the  only  one  to  furnish  a  sample,  the  contract 
would  be  awarded  to  it.  The  competing  companies  being 
assured  of  this,  sought  measures  to  kill  the  whole  business" 


proper  competition  not  being  allowed,  and  obtained  legal 
advice  in  the  matter.  That  advice  was  to  the  effect  that 
the  post-office  department  had  no  power  to  get  up  the 
cards  without  an  appropriation,  and  the  department  being 
so  informed  asked  an  opinion  of  the  Attorney- General, 
who  decided  as  above  stated.  Postal  cards  will  not  there- 
fore be  issued  until  an  appropriation  is  made  for  them  by 
Congress  at  its  next  session. 

Our  contemporary  claims  that,  as  a  matter 
of  justice,  we  should  give  him  (and  not  the 
A.  J.  P.)  the  credit  of  the  first  notice  of  the 
American  registration  stamps,  which  we 
are  happy  in  doing. 

The  Postage-Stamp  Reporter  is  an  eight-page 
journal,  hailing  from  Lowell,  Mass.  Its 
value  as  a  philatelic  publication  is  depreci- 
ated by  that  tawdry  vulgarity  of  style  which 
Americans  are  too  apt  to  mistake  for  wit  and 
vigour.  Too  often  common  sense  is  sacrificed 
to  sound  in  the  concoction  of  a  silly  sneer,  as 
witness  the  following  phrase  :  "  The  newest 
abrasion  in  English  philatelic  circles  is  the 
result  of  a  heated  discussion."  One  is 
tempted  to  inquire  if  the  writer  knows  the 
meaning  of  the  word  "abrasion."  The  person 
who  ridicules  what  he  does  not  understand 
is  also  capable  of  appropriating,  without 
acknowledgment,  what  does  not  belong  to 
him.  Our  article  on  the  forgery  of  the  new 
4  c.  green  Prince  Edward  Island  is  reprinted 
(though  not  in  its  entirety),  without  any  notice 
whatever  of  the  source  whence  it  was  de- 
rived. We  hope  the  example  we  have  the 
honour  to  show  the  editor  of  the  Reporter  in 
acknowledging  our  indebtedness  to  him  for 
the  really  useful  article  on  the  new  Japanese 
currency,  reprinted  in  another  part  of  the 
present  number,  will  have  its  effect  on  him, 
and  we  shall  rejoice  if  we  find  in  future 
impressions  of  the  Reporter  more  praisewor- 
thy matter  than  exists  in  the  copy  now 
under  notice. 

The  Canadian  Philatelist. — This  is  a  re- 
suscitation of  the  journal  which  discontinued 
publication  some  months  since.  It  dates 
from  Quebec,  and  consists  of  eight  pages  of 
legible  print.  The  proprietors  are  evidently 
animated  with  the  desire  of  producing  a 
respectable  and  useful  paper,  and  we  cordially 
wish  them  success.  The  first  number  opens 
with  a  well-written  paper  on  the  collection 
of  envelopes.  The  subject  is  fairly  discussed, 
and  the  writer  gives  his  voice  in  favour  of 
the    acceptance,  of  entire    envelopes.     Then 


164 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


follows  "Oar  Programme,"  in  which  the 
editor  announces  his  intention  to  uphold  the 
"extended  system,"  whilst  respecting  the 
opinions  of  the  less  scientific  body  of  collec- 
tors. From  "  The  Progress  of  Philately  in 
1872,"  we  are  pleased  to  learn  that  "in 
Canada  the  prospects  of  stamp  collecting  are 
brighter,  and  no  longer  can  it  be  said  "  the 
whole  body  of  collectors  are  boys."  Under 
the  heading  of  "Newly-issued  Stamps"  the 
latest  emissions  are  discussed  and  illustrated, 
some  of  the  engravings,  by  the  way,  being 
very  badly  worked.  A  paper  entitled 
"  Stamp  Collecting  and  its  Advantages  "  is 
the  first  effort  of  Mr.  John  Lindsay,  and,  as 
such,  is  a  very  satisfactory  production.  We 
are  always  glad  to  hail  the  appearance  of 
new  writers,  and  we  trust  Mr.  Lindsay  will 
go  on  as  he  has  begun,  and  be  joined  by 
other  recruits. 


NOTES  ON  THE  UNITED  STATES 
LOCALS. 

BY    W.   DUDLEY  ATLEE. 

VIII. 

snow's  despatch. 
At  page  154  of  the  last  volume  will  be  found 
mentioned  the  small  label  of  this  post,  printed 
in  black  upon  blue  paper.  I  am  now  able  to 
add  one  upon  buff,  which  has  long  had  a 
place  in  an  old  American  collection.  From 
the  good  company  in  which  this  vienx-neuf 
figured,  I  have  every  faith  in  its  authenticity. 

SXOW'S    EXPEESS. 

Whether  this  express  had  any  connection 
with  Snow's  despatch  I  am  quite  unable  to 
determine,  for  both  it  and  the  stamp  I  am 
about  to  describe  have  hitherto  been  un- 
known to  me  even  by  name.  The  design  (if 
such  it  may  be  called)  is  of  the  simplest, 
being  an  old-fashioned  looking  figure  1,  with 
snow's  reading  upwards  on  one  side,  and 
EXPRESS  reading  downwards  on  the  other. 
Above  is  one,  between  two  strokes,  and 
below  is  cent,  similarly  placed.  This  unique 
stamp  is  printed  in  blue  upon  thin  paper. 

p.    o.   PAID. 
Another  resuscitation  ;   but  when  or  where 
it  was  used,  or  lor  what  purpose  I  know  not. 


and  I  fear  there  is  but  little  chance  of  finding 
out. 

The  aspect  of  this  newly-found  stamp  is 
here  reproduced.  It  is,  as  wrill  be  observed, 
very  commonplace  and  prac- 
tical. It  was  printed  in 
black,  both  upon  white  and 
upon  blae  paper, 


P.  0.  PAID, 
One  Cent. 


Were  it  not  that  the  pair  I  have  are  upon 
paper  so  old  as  to  almost  fall  to  pieces  with 
the  gentlest  handling,  I  should  look  upon 
them  with  great  doubt ;  but,  as  it  is,  I  shall 
believe  in  their  genuine  character  until  the 
contrary  be  proved.  The  value  being  only  a 
cent,  it  is  just  possible  that  they  were  emitted 
by  the  postmaster  of  some  government  office 
as  a  means  of  collecting  a  late  fee ;  but  this 
is  only  surmise. 

U.    S.    PENNY   POST. 

Through  the  kindness  of  the  publishers  I 
am  able  to  give  a  representation  of  a  very 
rare  and  finely-engraved  local, 
never  before  chronicled. 

Unfortunately,  the  only 
specimen  I  have  seen  is  can- 
celled with  an  undecipherable 
postmark,  so  that  I  am  not 
able  to  mention  the  place  of 
its  nativity.  From  the  prefix 
u.  s.,  I  should  almost  be  inclined  to  accredit  it 
to  the  "United  States  City  Despatch  Post," 
of  New  York.  The  impression  is  black  on 
white. 

3ed  avenue  p.  o. 

According  to  Mr.  S.  Allan  Taylor,  this  post 
was  established  in  1855,  or  185G,  by  one 
S.  Rothenheim,  a  carrier  for  Boyd's  post. 
The  stamps  he  made  himself,  with  a  hand- 
stamp  of  either  brass  or  metal.  He  after- 
wards gummed  and  trimmed  them  carefully, 
and  put  them  up  in  pill-boxes  for  sale,  on  the 
principle  that  they  got  lost  and  destroyed 
better  that  way,  and  more  were  the  sooner 
asked  for.  Street  letter-boxes  being  gene- 
rally kept  at  groceries,  the  usual  place  for  the 
stamps  was  the  till  or  cash-drawer,  where 
they  got  greatly  tossed  about,  and  being  se- 
parate, small,  and  gummed,  they  were  easily 
destroyed.  The  stamp  was  similar  in  size 
and  shape  to  the  oval  East  River  post  office 
labels,  the  inscription  being  aye.  3,  P.  0.  s.  B., 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


165 


paid.  The  impression  was  black  on  green. 
Copies  of  this  stamp  are  virtually  unattain- 
able ;  but  those  of  a  forgery,  of  Montreal 
manufacture,  lettered  3rd  avenue  s.  r.  post 
office,  in  an  oblong,  are  plentiful. 

METROPOLITAN    ERRAND    AND     CARRIER     EXPRESS. 

For  the  following  particulars  I  am  indebted 
to  Mr.  S.  Allan  Taylor.  This  post  was  a 
swindle,  concocted  by  a  carrier  of  one  of  the 
New  York  expresses,  directly  after  the  failure 
of  the  incorporated  company  trading  under 
the  above  title.  The  carrier  in  question  sta- 
tioned some  boxes  at  various  stores,  and 
supplied  the  owners  thereof  with  some 
stamps,  type-set,  printed  on  green  glazed 
paper,  and  inscribed  metropolitan  errand  & 
carrier  express,  two  cents.  The  shape  was 
a  small  oblong. 

The  carrier  and  proprietor  of  this  so-called 
express  must  have  delivered  the  letters  him- 
self, at  odd  times,  or  after  hours,  or  else  they 
must  have  been  thrown  into  his  employer's 
box  as  unpaid.  His  venture  soon  "  went 
up." 

BENTLEY'S    DESPATCH,    NEW   YORK. 

The  label  usually  sold  as  having  been  is- 
sued by  this  post  is  a  narrow  oblong,  lettered 
bentley's  despatch,  in  small  Roman  type, 
and  $labis(M  Square  in  old  English,  all 
within  four  single  thick  lines.  This  imposi- 
tion is  rightly  condemned  by  Mr.  Overy 
Taylor.  Mr.  Allan  Taylor  informs  me  that, 
having  occasion  several  times  in  1858  to  visit 
the  Madison  Square  letter  office,  he  repeat- 
edly saw  the  stamp'  then  in  use ;  but  he  has 
never  seen  one  since. 

The  stamp  was  printed  in  bronze  on  white, 
and  was  evidently  a  copy  of  the  small 
"  Blood's  Penny  Post,  Philad'a."  The  style  of 
letters,  size,  and  appearance  were  all  similar. 

The  name  of  "  H.  W.  Bentley,  Dispatch, 
945,  Broadway  "  (which  is  Madison  Square) 
appears  in  the  New  York  Directory  for  1858, 
but  is  missing  in  1859,  and  all  directories 
since.  Mr.  S.  A.  Taylor  says  :  "  In  the  fall 
of  1864  I  went  to  look  up  Bentley,  but  the 
Madison  Square  post  office  was  removed 
across  the  street.  I  inquired  of  the  person 
in  charge  about  stamps,  but  she  had  never 
seen  any.  I  inquired  where  Bentley  had 
gone  to,  but  of  that  she  was  ignorant.     At 


this  time  no  stamp  was  used,  letters  being 
simply  handstamped  madison  square  letter 
office,  in  a  transverse  oval." 

G.  carter's  despatch. 

This  post  probably  existed  in  Philadelphia. 
The  stamp  was  very  plain,  bearing,  upon  a 
solid  ground,  G.  carter's  despatch,  with  paid 
in  the  centre,  the  whole  enclosed  in  a  linear 
oblong,  with  slightly  rounded  corners. 
Small  oblong,  black  on  white. 

In  the  genuine,  the  stroke  over  paid  ex- 
tends from  above  the  right  side  of  p.  to  be- 
tween i  and  d.  Lower  stroke,  waved,  from 
under  right  side  of  P  to  below  centre  of  D. 
Thick  letters.  Forgery  is  of  same  depth  as 
original,  but  longer  ;  in  it  the  stroke  above 
paid  is  only  over  the  middle  letters,  and  the 
lower  stroke  only  extends  to  under  the  up- 
right of  D. 

PAPERS  FOR  BEGINNERS.— No.  XXII. 

BY   OVERY  TAYLOR. 

EUROPE, 

As,  in  all  that  relates  to  the  fine  arts,  France 
is  among  the  foremost,  it  is  but  natural  that 
her  postage  stamps  should  be  distinguished, 
in  an  eminent  degree,  by  the  correctness  of 
their  designs  and  the  delicacy  of  their 
execution.  Nor  is  it  surprising  that,  issuing 
as  they  do  from  a  country  which  has  proved 
the  home  of  revolution,  they  should  reflect, 
to  a  peculiar  extent,  the  political  convulsions 
which  have  rent  it  since  their  first  appear- 
ance. The  various  emissions  have  been 
referred  to  with  pride  by  every  writer  on 
postage  stamps,  as  strongly  evidencing  the 
value  of  philately  as  a  teacher  of  history  ; 
and,  in  fact,  so  clear  from  anything  like 
doubt  or  difficulty  are  their  own  annals  as  to 
stamps,  that  the  interest  which  attaches  to 
them  is  rather  historical  than  philatelical. 

The  first  series  saw  the  light  just  after  the 
revolution  of  1848.  The  government  of 
Louis  Philippe  had  witnessed  the  establish- 
ment of  the  cheap  postage  system  in  England 
eight  years  before,  but,  notwithstanding  the 
repeated  demands  of  the  mercantile  com- 
munity, had  taken  no  steps  towards  its 
introduction  in  France.     It  was  reserved  to 


166 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


the  Republic  to  confer  tbe  desired  boon  on 
the  people,  and  accordingly,  in  the  autumn 
of  1848,  under  tbe  regime  of  Etienne  Arago, 
the  decree  was  issued,  fixing  the  uniform 
postal  rates  at  20  centimes  and  1  franc,  and 
ordaining  the  emission  of  stamps  of  those 
values  on  the  1st  January,  1849.  There 
remained  between  the  issue  of  the  decree 
and  the  date  indicated  for  the  appearance  of 
the  stamps,  an  interval  of  only  three  months 
in  which  to  prepare  the  supplies ;  and  but 
for  an  accident,  the  work  of  engraving  the 
dies  and  printing  off  the  stock  would  have 
been  confided  to  an  English  firm.  Pressed 
for  time,  the  government  applied  to  Messrs. 
Bacon  &  Perkins  (or  sir  Perkins,  as  the 
French  work  has  it  from  which  I  gather  these 
details*),  for  an  estimate.  "Sir  Perkins" 
replied  that  he  would  require  six  months  to 
deliver  the  stamps,  and  that  his  price  was 
one  franc  per  sheet  of  240.  This  beiug  an 
exorbitant  price,  and  the  time  demanded 
exceeding  that  fixed  by  the  law,  the  govern- 
ment broke  cff  the  negotiations,  and  looked 
about  for  a  French  engraver.  Not  many 
months  before,  when  coin  was  scarce,  the 
French  finance  minister  had  requested  the 
Bank  of  France  to  issue  a  large  number  of 
100-franc  notes.  The  bank  could  not 
comply  with  the  request,  for  it  had  only  one 
plate — that  of  the  200-franc  notes — and  the 
engraving  of  a  new  plate  was  reckoned  to 
cost  a  thousand  pounds,  and  eighteen  months 
to  a  couple  of  years'  labour.  In  this  difficulty 
recourse  was  had  to  an  engraver  named 
Hulot,  who  in  iv:o  months  completed  the 
plate  of  the  present  100-franc  note,  and 
turned  out  a  sufficient  supply.  To  him  the 
government  now  addressed  itself,  and  a 
week  before  the  1st  January,  1849,  every 
post-office  in  France  was  provided  with 
stamps,  besides  which  there  remained  in 
stock  a  surplus  of  eight  to  ten  millions.  It 
was  a  brilliant  success  for  M.  Hulot,  and 
some  time  after  he  wrote  a  letter,  containing 
some  interesting  details  of  the  way  in  which 
he  got  through  his  work.  "  In  five  weeks," 
says  he,  "the  matrix  was  engraved;  within  an 
equal  period  the  ateliers  were  fitted  up,  and 
the  plates,  containing  the  electrotype  casts 

*  La  Poate  Anecdotique  c\-  Pittoresque.      P;ir  Pierre 
Zacconc.     Paris :  Achille  Faure.     U    \ 


for  300  stamps,  executed.  Lastly,  a  few 
days'  pressing,  with  hand-worked  presses, 
producing  1,200,000  stamps  per  day,  enabled 
me  to  supply  all  the  French  post-offices.*' 

The  type,  of  which  the  printing  was 
superintended  by  M.  Hulot,  was  actually 
engraved  by  M.  Barre,  and  remains  to  this 
day  one  of  the  finest  productions,  if  not  the 
finest,  among  stamp  de- 
signs. The  profile  of  the 
Republic  may  be  described 
as  faultless,  and  the  minor 
details  harmonise  in  their 
severity  with  the  classic 
portrait.  "Inthisinstance," 
as  Dr.  Magnus  well  ob- 
serves, "  the  obligatory 
framework  does  not  distract  attention  by 
misplaced  florets  or  ornaments." 

Everything  is  in  the  best  of  taste,  and  the 
only  fault  found  with  the  design  is  based  on 
utilitarian  grounds, — the  numeral  of  value 
is  not  sufficiently  conspicuous.  Regarded, 
however,  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  can 
it  be  said  that  the  recently  issued  1  c,  2  c, 
and  5  c.  Republic  are  improved  by  the  large 
corner  figures  ?  Does  not  their  presence,  on 
the  contrary,  constitute  a  blemish  ? 

Of  the  two  first  issued  stamps,  the  20  c. 
made  its  appearance  in  black,  and  the  one 
franc  in  vermilion.  The  latter  is  counted 
among  the  choicest  rarities  in  a  collection, 
and  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  should  be  so 
scarce,  seeing  that  it  only  remained  in  cir- 
culation a  single  twelvemonth.  It  was  then 
withdrawn,  because  the  post-office  was  about 
to  issue  the  40  centimes  orange,  and  feared 
that  the  two  values  would  be  confounded 
together,  on  account  of  their  similarity  of 
colour,  joined  to  their  identity  of  design.  Pur- 
suant to  a  post-office  circular  of  December  1, 
1849,  the  stock  of  vermilion  one  franc  re- 
maining in  the  provincial  offices  was  collected 
and  returned  to  Paris  ;  hence  the  suppression 
was  complete.  Probably,  in  prevision  of  the 
issue  of  40  centime  stamps,  for  which  orders 
were  given  in  April,  the  one  franc,  as  early 
as  August,  1849,  was  printed  in  carmine. 
No  official  document  exists  authorising  the 
employment  of  this  colour,  and  a  well- 
informed  writer  suggests  that  directions 
were  simply  given  to  the  printer  to  print  the 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


167 


stamp  for  the  future  in  a  colour  with  less 
orange  in  its  composition.*  Finally,  about 
the  time  of  the  emission  of  the  40  c,  the 
1  franc  was  issued  in  dark  carmine. 

The  40  c.  orange  made  its  appearance  in 
December,  1849,  or  January,  1850,  and  the 
provincial  offices  received  their  supplies 
during  the  first  ten  days  of  February.  This 
stamp  is  found  in  several  shades  of  orange. 

By  the  law  of  the  15-18th  May,  1850,  a 
retrograde  step  was  made  in  the  postal  tariff, 
the  rate  for  a  single-weight  letter  being 
thereby  fixed  at  25  centimes.  This  neces- 
sitated the  issue  of  the  25  c.  blue,  which  took 
place  on  the  1st  July  following,  blue  being 
chosen  to  replace  the  black  of  the  20  c, 
because  the  latter  colour  was  reserved  for  the 
postmarks.  The  change  in  the  rate  gave 
rise  to  another  call  on  M.  Hulot' s  energies, 
and  led  incidentally  to  the  printing  off  of  a 
supply  of  a  provisional  stamp  which  never 
was  issned.  When,  after  the  passage  of  the 
law,  M.  Hulot  was  requested  to  prepare  a 
new  plate,  he  was  unable  to  assure  the 
Minister  of  Finance  that  it  would  be  ready 
in  time,  and  it  was  therefore  agreed  that  he 
should  print  a  supply  of  stamps  in  blue  from 
the  20  c.  dies,  and  surcharge  them  with  the 
figures  25  in  red.  This  was  accordingly  done, 
and  a  machine  was  employed  to  print  "  25  c." 
in  red  on  each  stamp,  the  machine  being  a 
wheel,  with  types  of  the  figures  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  each  spoke.f  M.  Hulot  was  able, 
however,  to  get  ready  the  plate  of  the  new 
25  c,  and  to  print  a  sufficient  supply  from 
it  within  the  given  time  ;  so  the  provisionals, 
not  being  wanted,  were  all  destroyed,  save 
some  very  few  specimens,  of  which  only 
three  or  four  are  known  to  exist.  Some 
sheets  of  the  20  c.  blue  without  ■  the  sur- 
charge got  mixed,  it  is  supposed,  with  the 
supplies  of  the  25  centime  blue,  as  an  oblite- 
rated 20  c.  blue  is  in  the  possession  of 
"A  Parisian  Collector." 

On  the  12th  (or  23rd)  July,  1850,  the 
15  c.  green  made  its  appearance,  and  on  the 
12th  of  the  following  September,  the  10  c. 
brownish  yellow,  or  cinnamon,  completed 
the  series.    All  the  values,  except  the  1  franc 

*  See  "An  Interesting  Embryo,"  The  Stum p- Collector' 's 
Jf'ifjuz/iie,  vol.  vii.,  p.  So. 
f  Idem. 


gfl.HJ'l  OiilCE!^ 


vermilion,  but  inc'uding  the  embryo  20  c.  . 
blue,  were  reprinted  in  1862.  The  reprints 
are  distinguishable  by  the  lightness  and 
brightness  of  their  tints.  The  obliterations 
are  of  three  kinds:  (1)  a  lozenge  formed  of 
seven  crossed  bars — the  well-known  "  grid- 
iron "  mirk  ;  (2)  a  six-pointed  star  of  dots  ; 
and  (3)  a  lozenge  formed  of  dots,  with  the 
post-office  number  in  the  centre.  The  two 
latter  are  also  found  on  the  imperial  stamps. 

On  the  2nd  December,  1851,  occurred  the 
cwp  d'etat,  which  gave  to  Prince  Louis 
Napoleon  the  actual  supremacy,  and  enabled 
him  to  prepare  the  way  for  his  assumption 
of  the  purple.  The  profile  of  Liberty  on  the 
stamp  was  no  longer  appropriate.  The 
Republic  existed  in  name,  but  the  President 
was  the  de  facto  ruler.  This  state  of  things 
is  accurately  indicated  on  the  presidential 
stamps.  The  title,  repub.  franc,  remains,  but 
the  portrait  is  that  of  Napoleon.  They  were, 
moreover,  in  their  essence, 
"  provisional "  stamps,  des- 
tined to  remain  current  for 
but  a  brief  space  of  time. 
The  25  c.  blue  was  issued  on 
the  12th  August,  and  the 
10  c.  cinnamon  in  the  course 
of  September,  1852.  The 
portrait  of  the  Prince-President  is  by  no 
means  a  bad  one,  and  it  is  executed  with 
the  same  carefuluess,  and  by  the  same  hand, 
as  the  profile  of  Liberty.  Beneath  the  neck 
appears  a  minute  capital  B. — the  initial  of 
Barre,  the  engraver's  name.  The  blue  25  c, 
like  the  blue  stamps  of  the  Republic  and  the 
empire,  differs  very  much  in  intensity  of 
shade,  varying  from  light  to  a  full  dark  blue. 

After  the  proclamation  of  the  empire,  it 
became  time  to  think  of  changing  the 
obsolete  inscription  on  the  stamp,  re  pub. 
was  taken  out,  and  replaced  by  empire, 
and  the  metamorphosis  was  complete.  The 
issue  of  imperial  stamps  commenced  in 
August,  1853,  with  the  10  c.  cinnamon — the 
value  used  for  the  local  Parisian  rate.  A 
few  days  afterwards,  the  1  franc  carmine 
followed,  a  stamp  which  is  now  getting  of  a 
certain  rarity.  Then  came,  on  the  8th 
September,  the  40  c.  orange,  and  on  the  3rd 
November  the  25  c.  blue.  This  last  had  but 
a     brief    currency,    for    it     was    soon    after 


168 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


decided  to  return  to  the  old  rate  of  20 
centimes,  and  it  is  consequently  a  trifle  rarer 
than  its  companion  low  values. 

The  20  centimes  blue  came  out  on  the 
1st  July,  1854.  A  universally  recognised  (: 
very  dark  blue  variety  of  this  colour  exists. 
In  October,  1854,  appeared  the  80  centimes  | 
carmine,  of  the  same  shade  as  the  one  franc, 
which  it,  in  fact,  replaced  ;  and  on  the  4th 
November  of  the  same  year,  the  5  centimes 
green,  inaugurating  the  establishment  of  low 
rates  for  printed  matter,  was  issued.  From 
that  time,  up  to  1860,  no  further  change  was 
made. 

NEWLY-ISSUED   OR  INEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Spain. — The  entire  new  series  is  now  before 
us,  and,  taken  altogether,  we  cannot  say  we 
greatly  admire  it.     Naturally,  the  first  thing 
that  strikes  us  is  the  colours.     They  are  by  no 
means  happily  chosen.     Some  are  ineffective, 
and  between  others  confusion  is  almost  cer- 
tain to  arise.     The  10  c.  differs  only  by  a 
shade   from   the  12  c,  and 
the    25    c.    is    but    a    trifle 
darker  than  the  40  c.       The 
full-face    portrait    is    by   no 
means    a   pleasing    one,  for 
the  king  is  represented  as  if 
5   suffering  from  weak  and  in- 
flamed eyes  ;  but,  with  bet- 
ter chosen  tints,  the  effect, 
as  a  whole,  might  not  have*  been  unpleasing. 
The    three   highest   values   are  alone   satis- 
factory.    Of  these  the  desigu  is  here  repre- 
sented.    The  profile  is  boldly  drawn,  and  the 
lettering  above  being  more  regular,  does  not 
present  the   bizarre   appearance  remarkable 
on  the  lower  values.     The  latter  are  of  the 
type   illustrated  in  our  August  number,  of 
which  we  here  reproduce  the 
engraving.     There  remain  to 
bo    noticed   the    stamps    for 
printed  matter,  which  are  of 
two    kinds.     There  is,  first, 
the  1  centimo,  which  is  com- 
posed of  four  quarter-centimo    lysis; 
(or  1  millesima)  stamps,  ar-    liiM 
ranged  after  the  manner  of 
the    Brunswick    and  Mecklenburg  quartets? 


Correos  Espana 

J 

f 

XnreosEspaiui 

and  unperforated.      The    Brunswick    stamp 
has  evidently  stood  as  the  model,  so  far  as 
concerns  the  design,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
annexed  engraving: ;  the  crown 
(with   the   necessary   modifica- 
tions)   and  the  transverse  oval 
beneath  being  reproduced  ;  but 
the  diminutive  size  of  the  former 
has  not  been  copied.     It  will  be 
noticed  that  the  centimo  de  peseta  contains 
only  four  millesimas  d'escudo.     The  2  and  5 
centimos  de  peseta — of  the  former  of  which 
we  give  an    engraving — are 
simply  the  old  types  of  18G7 
(5    and    10   mil.),   with   the 
marginal   inscriptions  re-en- 
graved,   or  reset.       The  en- 
graver of  the  higher  values — 
E.  Julia — haswrittenhisname 
along  the  edge  of  the  neck  of 
|   the  profile,   and  also  (but  in   almost  unde- 
cipherable  characters)  under  the  cravat  of  the 
full-face  portrait.   The  word  communicaciones, 
written   above  the  portrait,  indicates,  as  it 
may  be  well  to  remind  our  readers,  that  the 
stamps  are  intended  for  telegrams  as  well  as 
letters.      We   learn   from    the    Eevista    del 
Correos,  to  hand  at  the  last  moment,  that  the 
new    tariff — to    give    effect   to    which  these 
stamps  are  emitted — has  given  general  satis- 
faction.    The  same  journal  states  that   the 
finance  office,  and  not  the  postal  department, 
is  responsible  for  the  designs. 

Russian  Locals. — Demiansk  (Novgorod). — 
This  stamp  has  been  in  existence  since  18G8. 
The  honour  of  discovering  it  belongs  to  Le 
Timor  e-Poste.  The  impression 
being  defective,  it  is  impossible 
to  guarantee  the  accuracy  of 
the  copy  of  the  arms ;  but  they 
are  sufficiently  clear  to  enable 
us  to  perceive  their  likeness  to, 
if  not  identity  with,  the  arms 
on  the  Novgorod  stamp.  The  two  sup- 
porters (bears  or  boars)  and  the  crossed 
swords  are  there.  The  device  in  the  lower 
half  of  the  shield  may  be  peculiar  to  the  town 
of  Demiansk.  The  value  of  this  stamp  is 
3  kopecs;  it  is  printed  in  black  on  white 
blue-coated  paper.  The  four  Russian  letters 
— N.  G.  d.  z. — in  the  angles  signify  "Novgorod, 
Government,  Demiansk,  Emstivo  " — rural  ad- 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


169 


ministration.       The    oval    inscription    bears 
the  same  signification. 

Melitopol  (Taurida). — The  stamp  described 
by  us  last  year  (p.  97)  is  here  represented. 
It  was  withdrawn  from  cir- 
culation because  of  its  assert- 
ed resemblance  to  the  im- 
perial stamps  ;  but  although 
the  general  idea  may  have 
been  taken  from  them,  there 
is  really  nothing  in  the  type 
to  render  confusion  possible, 
especially  as  this  stamp  was 
printed  in  red  on  white.  Per- 
haps the  true  reason,  presented  as  above 
in  a  distorted  form,  is  that  the  imperial 
arms  are  reserved  for  the  imperial  stamps, 
hence  the  local  authorities  were  exceeding 
their  powers  in  adopting  the  same  for 
their  district  emission.  Determined  not  to 
subject  themselves  to  reproach  on  the  score 
of  trespassing  on  imperial  attributes  in  the 
choice  of  a  design  for  the  stamp  destined 
to  replace  the  condemned  type,  the  authori- 
ties, sitting,  we  should  think,  in  solemn 
council,  have  issued  the  annexed  uncommon 
device.  Presumably, 
the  man  on  horse- 
back is  the  rural  post- 
man, ambling  along 
very  leisurely  to  the 
town  in  the  distance, 
and,  positively,  the 
man  is  smoking  !  It 
must  be  a  quiet  coun- 
try round  about  Meli- 
topol, where  people  are  not  in  the  habit  of 
getting  nervous  if  the  postman  is  an  hour  or 
two  late.  As  Le  Timbre-Poste  says,  "  Many 
queer  things  have  been  represented  on 
stamps,  but  no  one  expected  to  see  a  smoker 
figuring  on  them."  The  stamp  on  which  this 
postal  worshipper  of  nicotine  holds  such  a 
conspicuous  place  is  printed  in  blue  on  white 
paper,  unperforated. 

Boguchar  (Yoronesh). — Described  in  our 
list  more  than  a  twelvemonth  ago,  the  stamp 
for  this  district  only 
just  makes  its  appear- 
ance. It  is  printed  in 
black  on  white,  and  is  of 
the  value  of  5  kop.     As 


a  postmark,  it  would  pass  muster  ;  but  as  a 
stamp,  it  is  nowhere. 

Egorieff. — The  black  3  kop.  is  used  for 
correspondence  for  the  town,  and  the  blue  of 
the  same  value  for  the  district  of  EgoriefF. 

Kolomna. — The  red  5  kop.  is  used  for  both 
town  and  district  letters ;  the  5  kop.  blue 
serves  as  an  unpaid-letter  stamp. 

Riasan. — The  blue  2  kop.  is  the  ordinary 
letter  stamp.  The  gilt  2  kop.  is  an  unpaid- 
letter  stamp,  as  was  also  the  2  kop.  black, 
which,  by  decision  of  the  printer,  it  super- 
seded. 

ScJdusselburg. —  Our  Brussels  contempo- 
rary, from  whom  the  three  preceding  para- 
graphs are  quoted,  states  that  the  local  post 
for  this  district  was  suppressed  in  1866.  This 
proves  that  the  local  post  system  is  of  earlier 
date  than  we  had  supposed. 

Chili. — Our  Brighton  contemporary  gave, 
last  month,  the  annexed  engravings  ;  one  re- 


no  BorynAPCH 
yi>3Ay5  Hon. 


presenting  the  true  type  of  the  adopted  en- 
velopes, and  the  other  that  of  the  post  card 
stamp.  Our  contemporary  is  positive  that 
this  time  he  has  the  veritable  designs,  and  he 
vouches  for  the  values  and  colours,  which  we 
quote  ;  at  the  same  time  we  cannot  help 
expressing  our  surprise  that  the  American 
Bank  Note  Co.  should  copy  so  slavishly  our 
English  design  for  the  post  card  stamp,  and 
the  Ceylon  envelope  design  for  the  enve- 
lopes. If,  however,  as  has  been  stated,  the 
card  emanates  from  Messrs.  De  La  Rue's 
atelier,  then  a  key  to  the  similarities  is  ob- 
tained. The  following  are  the  values  and 
colours  quoted  : — 

POST    CAEDS. 

2  (dos)     centavos  brown. 

5  (cinco)       „  purple. 

ENVELOPES. 

2  (dos)     centavos  brown. 

5  (cinco)       „  purple. 


170 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


10  (diez)    centavos  blue. 

15  (quince)     „  pink. 

'    20  (viente)     „  bronze-green. 

Mauritius. — In  our  last  number  we  quoted 
an  announcement  made  by  Le  Tlmbre-Poste, 
to  the  effect  that  a  tenpenny  stamp  was  about 
to  make  its  appearance,  coloured  "  morocco 
and  gold."  A  tenpenny  stamp  has  appeared, 
but  its  tints,  instead  of  presenting  the  curious 
combination  which  our  Belgian  contemporary 
led  us  to  expect,  resolve  themselves  into, 
simple  "  red-maroon."  The  Philatelist  was 
the  first  to  obtain  and  en- 
grave a  specimen  of  the  new 
tvpe,  of  which  we  are  now 
able  to  publish  the  annexed 
illustration. 

There  is  something  of  the 
eight  cents  of  Ceylon  about 
the  general  disposition, 
which  shows  a  departure 
from  the  style  so  long  patronised  by  the 
island  authorities.  For  ourselves,  we  prefer 
the  old  design,  which  is  prettier  and  less  in- 
tricate, to  our  idea,  than  the  new  one.  Our 
contemporary  omits  to  state  whether  the  new 
comer  is  watermarked.  Envelopes  of  the 
values  of  tenpence  and  one-shilling-and 
eightpence,  respectively,  are,  it  appears, 
really  on  their  way. 

Persia. — Seven  years  ago  the  annexed  de- 
sign figured  in  these  pages  as  being  the  type 

adopted    by    the    Persian 

government  for  a  series  of 
postage  stamps.  Then, 
when  no  stamps  appeared, 
the  report  was  set  down  as 
an  unfounded  one.  Only 
a  few  perforated  copies  of 
the  design  which  took  its 
place,  not  a  very  high  one, 
in  the  list  of  rejected  essays,  were  kept. 
Now  Dr.  Magnus  announces,  in  the  Gazette 
ties  Timbres,  that  a  series  of  postage  stamps 
of  this  almost  forgotten  type  has  been  issued 
by  the  Persian  government.  He  is  unable 
to  quote  all  the  values,  but  he  possesses  a 
specimen  of  one  of  them,  which  bears  a  cha- 
racter in  the  angles,  signifying  eight,  and  is 
roughly  printed,  by  the  typographic  method, 
on  very  thin  paper.  The  margin  having  been 
cut    away,    Dr.    Magnus    is    unable    to    say 


/\z\/vrw  ^  -^  J"»  t 


After  the  shilling  the  turn  of 


whether  the  stamp  is,  like  the  essay,  perfo- 
rated or  not. 

Great  Britain. — Our  Brighton  contempo- 
rary gives  us  the  information  of  a  forth- 
coming new  issue  of  our 
shilling  adhesives,  after  the 
annexed  type.  Our  readers, 
whilst  perceiving  at  a  glance 
that  it  differs  from  the  exist- 
ing design,  may  be  puzzled 
to  discover  in  what  the  differ- 
ence consists.  It  is  simply 
in  the  impression  of  the  cor-- 
ner  letters  and  registration  number  in  colour 
on  white,  instead  of  in  white  on  colour  as 
at  present.  The  change  is  slight,  but  the 
effect  in  lightening  the  appearance  of  the 
stamp  considerable.  Hitherto  only  the  four 
low  values — |d.,  Id.,  If  d.,  and  2d. — have  had 
white  corners,  but  all  the  higher  values  are 
now  to  receive  them,  and  the  dies  are  to 
be  retouched 
the  threepence,  it  is  said,  will  come 

Jamaica. — We  have  to  thank  The  Philatelist 
for  the  first  intelligence  of  a  welcome  acces- 
sion to  the  ranks  in  the 
shape  of  a  halfpenny  Jamaica  £ 
stamp,  of  the  design  of 
which  our  readers  will  be 
able  to  judge  from  the  an- 
nexed engraving,  which  ren- 
ders description  unnecessary. 
The  impression  is  in  maroon 
on  white  paper.  Our  con- 
temporary does  not  say  what  watermark  (if 
any)  the  paper  contains.  The  stamp  is  en- 
graved by  De  La  Hue  &  Co.,  who  appear  to 
have  the  monopoly  of  the  supply  of  colonial 
issues. 

Finland. — The  polyglot  post  card  has  made 
its  appearance.  The  inscription,  correspond- 
ence caed,  in  Finnish,  Swedish,  and  Russian, 
is  arranged  in  three  lines,  with  a  different 
type  for  each  line.  The  instructions  at  foot 
are  dealt  with  in  the  same  manner.  The  8 
pen.  stamp  is  maintained  at  the  left-hand 
corner,  and  the  frame  is  of  the  same  pattern 
as  on  the  preceding  issue.  As  before,  the 
card  is  of  a  pale  buff  tint,  and  the  inscrip- 
tions, <fec,  in  deep  green.  The  reverse  of 
the  card  is  bordered  in  the  same  style  as  the 
front,  but  the  pattern  is  interrupted  at  the 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


171 


top  and  on  either  side  by  an  inscription  sig- 
nifying that  the  space  within  the  frame  is  re- 
served for  the  communication,  for  which  ten 
dotted  lines  are  provided. 

United  States. — A  correspondent,  resi- 
ding at  Lowell,  Mass.,  sends  us  a  cutting 
from  The  Boston  Advertiser,  relative  to  the 
new  postal  card.     It  reads  as  under: — 

The  new  postal  card  will  be  made  from  dies  cut  in  har- 
dened steel  for  surface  printing,  a  novel  and  heretofore 
considered  impossible  mode  of  engraving.  The  lines,  in- 
stead of  being  sunk,  are  raised  like  those  of  an  ordinary 
wood-cut,  so  that  the  plate  may  be  used  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  type  in  any  printing-press.  The  completed  card  is 
three  inches  by  live  and  one-eighth  inches  in  size,  made 
from  a  fine  quality  of  card-board,  and  is  of  a  light  buff 
colour.  A  boi-der  of  scroll-work  runs  around  the  edge,  while 
in  the  upper  right-hand  comer  is  a  very  handsome  stamp, 
consisting  of  a  head  of  liberty  encircled  with  stars  and  sur- 
rounded with  elliptical  scroll  work.  The  denomination  is 
one  cent,  and  the  colour  of  the  work  a  rich  velvet  brown. 
The  inscription  is  simply  united  states  postal  card. 

WRITE   ADDRESS    ONLY    ON   THIS    SIDE,    THE   MESSAGE   ON 

the  othek.  Below  are  ruled  lines,  while  the  reverse  is 
blank. 

Roumanta.. — In     the     annexed    type     the 

bearded  portrait  of  the  last  series  of  stamps 

is  found  in  conjunction  with 

the  old  frame  of  the  50  bani. 

Only   a  small  unperforated 

supply  of  this  stamp,  in  very 

pale  blue    and   red,  and  of 

the  10  bani,  in  ultramarine, 

has  been  printed  off  to  meet 

the  immediate  requirements 

of  the  post-office,  the  stock 

of  the  new  series  not   having   yet  come  to 

hand  from  Paris. 

Dutch  West  Indies. — We  learn  on  good 
authority  that  postage  stamps  will  shortly 
be  emitted  for  the  Dutch  possessions  of 
Surinam,  Curacoa,  &c.  They  will  bear  the 
portrait  of  King  William  III.,  and  will  closely 
resemble  the  design  of  the  present  series  for 
the  mother-country,  differing  principally  in 
the  angles.  The  values  will  be  2\  c,  3  c, 
5  c,  10  c,  25  c,  and  50  c.  A  contemporary 
says  that  they  will  not  be  gummed,  probably 
because  in  hot  climates  stamps  frequently  get 
stuck  together. 

France. — It  is  nearly  two  months  since  the 
new  80  centime  rose,  with  profile  of  Liberty, 
made  its  appearance,  without  any  prelimi- 
nary flourish,  at  Paris,  and  it  has  since  been 
followed  by  the  30  c.  brown  (light  and  dark). 
The  expected  large  and  unmistakable  figures 


JsaHKMjilttBg 


are  not  to  be  found.  The  numerals  are 
somewhat  larger  than  the  old  ones,  but 
they  are  rather  clumsily  squeezed  into  the 
old  border,  and  the  word  post es  and  the  c's, 
by  which  it  is  flanked,  are  in .  consequence 
made  smaller.  Altogether  the  compromise 
is  not  a  very  satisfactory  one. 

New  South  Wales.— The.  Gazette  des 
Timbres  presents  us  with  an  engraving  of  a 
watermark,  discovered  on  a  copy  of  a  Sydney 
stamp,  on  laid  paper.  The  engraving  being 
better  executed  than  many  of  the  others,  en- 
ables us  to  at  once  recognize  the  watermark 
as  forming  the  summit  of  the  crown,  sur- 
mounting the  medallion  of  Britannia,  the  oldj 
ordinary  watermark  on  English  foolscap 
hand-made  paper,  and  is  not  peculiar  to  any 
official  paper,  as  suggested  by  the  editor. 

Ecuador. — M.  Moens  is  of  opinion  that  the 
one  real,  described  by  us  last  month  from  La 
Gazette  des  Timbres,  is  a  humbug.  The  editor 
of  the  latter  journal,  however,  is  not  shaken 
in  his  belief  in  its  genuineness ;  and  in  the 
last  number  he  states,  that  prior  to  the  issue 
of  the  new-  type  the  old  1  rl.  yellow  was 
printed  in  "  olive-yellow,"  on  bluish  paper, 
as  also  the  \  real,  but  the  paper  of  the  latter 
is  of  a  lighter  tint  than  that  of  the  1  real. 

Denmark. — Holte. — The  first  local  stamp 
for  Holte  has  gone  the  way 
of  all  things,  and  its  suc- 
cessor is  now  before  us  in 
the  shape  of  the  subjoined 
type,  which  certainly  has  an 
original  look  about  it.  It 
is  coloured  chrome-green 
on  white,  is  perforated,  and 
was  issued  on  the  15th 
September  last. 

Japan. — The  5  tenpoes  (or  sen,  to  use  the 
correct  orthography),  to  the  rumoured  ex- 
istence of  which  we  referred  last  month, 
turns  out  to  be  actually  in  circulation,  of  the 
same  type  as  the  other  values,  printed  green, 
and  perforated. 

Austria  has  just  issued  a  newspaper  band, 
about  15  inches  long,  by  2|-  in.  wide.  Along 
either  edge,  for  a  distance  of  nine  inches, 
runs  a  broad  orange-yellow  stripe,  and  a  little 
beyond  the  middle  of  the  band  is  an  impres- 
sion, in  orange  yellow,  from  the  die  of  the 
2  kr.  adhesive. 


172 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOK'S  MAGAZINE. 


South  Australia. — The  ninepenny  stamp 
came  over  by  the  last  mail  printed  a  reddish- 
lilac.  The  copy  from  which  we  describe  is 
postmarked  Aug.  12,  '72.  There  is  no  change 
in  the  design. 

Xew  Zealand. — An  entirely  new  series  of 
stamps,  of  which  the  values  will  be  Id.,  2d., 
3d.,  4d.,  6d.,  and  Is.,  is  said  to  be  in  prepa- 
ration. 

Bermuda. — The  Philatelist  states  that  a 
threepenny  stamp  may  shortly  be  expected, 
intended  for  payment  of  postage  between 
Bermuda  and  North  America. 

British  Honduras. — The  same  authority 
says  that  the  threepenny  stamp  for  this  de- 
pendency will  be  issued  dark  chocolate. 

Switzerland. — Bigi  Scheidech. — The  stamp 
of  this  hotel  is  now  printed  bright  blue. 

NOTES   FOR   COLLECTORS.— III. 

BY  A  PARISIAN   COLLECTOR. 

5Ut5ttk. 

{Continued  from  page  126.) 
Following  the  chronological  order,  we  next 
come  to  the  first  series  of  stamps  which  were 
issued  for  prepaying  the  postage  on  journals. 
Previously  to  the  issue  of  these  stamps  certain 
other  stamps  had  been  issued,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  being  affixed  to  foreign  newspapers 
coming  into  the  country  ;  but  these  stamps 
represent  rather  a  fiscal  tax  than  any  ad- 
ditional postage  rate,*  and  are  scarcely  ad- 
missible in  a  list  of  postage  stamps,  from 
which  they  would  certainly  be  excluded 
under  Mr.  Overy  Taylor's  definition  of  a 
postage  stamp.  The  collection  of  them  has, 
however,  found  favour  with  amateurs,  and 
will  probably  continue  to  do  so,  from  the 
strong  relationship  they  bear  to  a  postage 
stamp  proper.  A  full  account  of  the  issues 
and  various  values  is  to  be  found  in  this 
magazine  (vol.  ix.,  page  7),  to  which  we  have 
nothing  to  add,  except  that  the  1  kreuzer 
blue  and  the  2  kr.  brown  are  still  in  use. 

JOURNAL    STAMPS. — FIRST    SERIES. 

Authentic  and  original  copies  of  the  two 

*  [Baron  A.  de  Rothschild  considers  them  as  forming  an 
ill-disguised  increase  of  the  postal  rates,  in  contravention 

of  treaty  obligations. — Ed.] 


higher  values — the  yellow  and  the  rose  Mer- 
curies— are  so  scarce  that  it 
is  impossible  to  state  whether 
any  or  what  varieties  exist. 
The  specimens  which  we  have 
examined  are  invariably  upon 
thinnish  hand-made  paper. 
A  copy — in  our  possession — 
of  the  yellow,  affixed  to  a  Vienna  bourse 
list  of  the  23rd  May,  1856,  and  bearing  a 
dated  obliteration  of  the  24th,  is  also  on  thin 
hand-made  paper.  As  none  others  were 
printed  after  that  date,  it  is  not  probable 
that  any  issue  took  place  on  thick  paper, 
similar  to  that  employed  for  the  latter 
portion  of  the  first  general  series  of  stamps, 
and  of  which  we  find  specimens  among  the 
bine  Mercuries.  Specimens  of  these  latter 
stamps  are  also  found  on  ribbed  paper,  similar 
to  that  described  p.  126.  The  variations  in 
shade  among  the  blue  stamps  are  consider- 
able, passing  through  every  gradation,  from 
light  grey  blue  to  full  blue. 

As  has  been  seen  by  the  despatch  quoted 
at  page  6,  vol.  ix.  of  this  magazine,  the  yel- 
low Mercury  was,  on  the  21st  March,  185G, 
superseded  by  a  scarlet  stamp  of  the  same 
type,  the  rose  having  been  suppressed  pre- 
viously. For  some  time  doubts  existed  as 
to  the  authenticity  of  this  stamp,  it  being 
regarded  by  many  as  a  fancy  impression. 
Such  doubts  may.  however,  be  considered 
as  extinguished.  Authentically  postmarked 
specimens  are  to  be  found  in  the  collections 

of  Mr.   Philbrick,    and  of  M.   P 1,  of 

Brussels,  leaving  no  shadow  of  a  doubt  but 
that  the  stamp  was  actually  employed.  It  is 
printed  on  thick  paper. 

Classification. 

1851.  I.— Thin  paper. 

1  journal  Prussian  blue,  pale  blue,  dull 

blue  (shades). 
10  journals         yellow. 
50        ,,  rose. 

II. — Ribbed  paper. 

1  journal  light  dull  blue. 

I  [I. — Thick  paper. 

1  journal  dull  blue,  Prussian  blue. 

1856.     10  journals         scarlet. 

SECOND    GEXKRAL    SERIES. 

The   change  of  the  monetary   system  in 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


173 


Austria  in  the  year  1858  necessitated  a  cor- 
responding change  in  the 
postage  stamps.  The  florin 
being  no  longer  divided 
into  60  kr.,  but  into  100  kr., 
and  its  value  being  also 
slightly  reduced,  exact 
counterparts  of  the  former 
values  could  not  be  found 
in  the  new  coinage.  For 
a  description  of  the  series 
we  refer  our  readers  to 
Mr.  Overy  Taylor's  paper 
in  this  magazine  (vol.  viii., 
p.  1 70),  to  which  we  have  but 
little  to  add.  There  are  two 
or  three  shades  of  the  2  kr. 
yellow,  the  5  kr.  red,  the  10  kr.  brown,  and 
the  15  kr.  blue  ;  but  they  depend  almost  en- 
tirely on  a  variation  in  the  depth  of  the  same 
colour,  save  in  the  5  kr.  red  and  the  10  kr. 
brown,  where  the  first  is  to  be  found  in 
bright  brick-red  and  vermilion,  and  the 
second  in  reddish  brown  and  in  dull  brown. 
The  2  kr.  orange  is  rare  even  obliterated, 
and  (rare)3  unused,  if  we  may  so  arith- 
metically denote  the  mode  adopted  by 
M.  Herpin,  when  describing  the  degree  of 
rarity  of  a  stamp.  M.  Berger-Levrault,  in  his 
catalogue,  gives  I860  as  the  date  of  issue  of 
this  shade  of  the  2  kr.  We  have  no  means 
of  verifying  or  disproving  that  date,  but  we 
doubt  its  correctness.  The  rarity  of  the 
stamp  is  rather  an  argument  for  a  fortuitous 
impression  in  darker  colours,  than  for  an 
issue  to  which  any  date  can  be  affixed. 

The  issue  is  printed  on  wove  paper, 
thickly  covered  with  adhesive  matter,  and  is 
perforated  15.* 

Classification : 

1858.     2  kreuzer  Naples  yellow  (shades)  light  chrome- 
yellow,  orange. 
3      ,,        black. 

5      ,,        vermilion,  brick-red  (shades). 
10      ,,        light  umber-brown  andreddish-brown. 
15      ,,        Prussian  blue  and  light  ditto. 
Journal  stamp,  Prussian  blue  (shades). 

*  The  St.  Andrew's  crosses  are  still  found  in  this  series, 
but  the  disposition  is  reversed ;  instead  of  being  in  colour 
on  a  white  ground,  the  ground  is  coloured  and  the  cross 
white.  But  very  few  amateurs  have  made  collections  of 
these  fillings-up,  which  fall  under  no  possible  definition 
of  a  postage  stamp,  or  any  other  stamp,  except  one  re- 
presenting nothing. 


1859.     3  kreuzer    sea  green,  varying  in  shades. 
Journal  stamp,  lilac  (shades). 

THIRD    GENERAL    SERIES. 

This  series,  issued  on  the  1st  January, 
1861,  presents  no  varieties,  except  such  as 
arise  from  varying  depths  of  the  same 
colours.  The  values  are  similar  to  those  in 
the  preceding  series,  and  probably  the  sole 
reason  for  the  change  was  to  bring  in  a  series 
of  envelopes  of  similar  design,  which  now  ap- 
peared for  the  first  time  in  Austria.  The 
stamps  are  printed  on  white  wove  paper,  and 
perforated  14.* 

The  series  of  envelopes  was  manufactured 
in  two  sizes,  the  large  and  the  ordinary  ;  for 
though  entire  copies  of  the 
25  and  the  80  kreuzer  are 
not  known,  yet,  as  all  the 
other  values,  including  the  35 
kreuzer,  have  been  found  in 
the  large  size,  it  may  be  sup- 
posed that  the  entire  series 
was  issued  in  that  size.  The 
paper  employed  was  thin,  soft  wove,  and 
unsurfaced.  Copies,  however,  of  some  of 
the  values  in  the  ordinary  size  are  to  be 
found  on  thicker  paper,  surfaced. 

The  whole  series  of  envelopes  was  reprinted 
in  186f>,  in  the  ordinary  size;  but  the  re- 
prints may  readily  be  distinguished  from 
the  originals  by  observing  the  difference  in 
the  form  of  the  two  side  flaps.  In  the  re- 
prints there  is,  also,  on  one  or  other  of  the 
flaps  a  watermark,  consisting  of  one  or  more 
letters,  or  parts  of  letters,   composing   the 

words  BRIEF    COUVERTS. 

Classification : 

I. — General  series,  perf.  14. 

2  kreuzer        Naples  yellow,  light,  medium,  and 

full. 

3  ,,  green,  light  green. 

5      ,,  vermilion,  brick-red,  and  light  ditto 

10      ,,  reddish  brown  (shades) . 

15      „  Prussian  blue  and  light  ditto. 

II. — Journal  stamp,  imperforate. 
(Value  1  kr.)   grey-lilac,  grey. 

*  In  addition  to  the  reprints  of  the  second  and  third 
series,  made  in  1865,  of  which  a  description  is  given  in 
this  magazine  (vol.  viii.,  p.  170),  the  adhesive  letter 
stamps  of  these  two  series  were  again  reprinted  sometime 
last  year.  These  reprints  are  distinguishable  from  the 
others  by  means  of  the  perforations,  which  in  the  origi- 
nal issue  are  14,  in  the  first  reprint  12,  and  in  the  re- 
prints of  last  year  11. 


174 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


IIT. — Envelopes. 

3  kreuzer  green,  light  green. 

5      „  ,  vermilion,  brick-red,  and  light  ditto. 

10      ,,  red-brown. 

15       ,,  Prussian  blue  and  light  ditto. 

20       ,,  orange  (shades). 

25       ,,  warm  brown. 

30      ,,  violet  (shades). 

35      ,,  pale  Vandyck  brown  (shades). 


THE  NEW  JAPANESE  CUBRENCY. 

REPRINTED   FROM    u  THE  POSTAGE-STAMP   REPORTER." 

The  Japanese  propose  to  revolutionize  their 
currency  and  financial  system,  and,  in 
fact,  have  already  begun  the  change.  The 
Japanese  embassy,  which  was  in  this  country 
and  in  England  a  year  ago  or  more,  had 
charge  of  this  matter.  At  first  they  were 
inclined  to  adopt  the  English  system,  this 
seeming  to  them  better  than  any  other  which 
they  examined  in  Europe ;  but  when  they 
reached  the  United  States,  and  became  ac- 
quainted with  our  system,  their  views  were 
changed,  although  the  English  sought  earn- 
estly to  prevent  this.  The  Japanese  com- 
mission finally  decided  to  adopt  our  decimal 
.system,  taking  our  dollar  as  their  unit,  and 
immediately  took  measures  to  put  it  in  oper- 
ation. Part  of  the  commissioners  went  home 
to  change  the  coinage,  and  the  others  re- 
mained here  to  superintend  the  printing  of 
bills  and  bonds  like  ours.*  This  work,  we 
believe,  is  not  yet  finished,  but  the  coinage 
has  been  so  far  changed  that  new  coin  is 
already  circulating  in  Japan.  An  article  in 
!The  Neiv  York  Times  describes  this  new 
Japanese  coinage  as  follows  v — 

"  The  lowest  denomination  of  their  gold 
coin  is  one  yen,  equal  to  one  dollar.  There 
are  then  gold  coins  of  the  denomination  of 
two,  five,  ten,  and  twenty  yens.  The  silver 
coin  is  called  sen,  the  denominations  being 
five,  ten,  twenty,  and  fifty  sens,  the  lower  de- 
nomination being  equal  to  five  cents  of  our 
currency.  The  copper  coinage  is  one  sen, 
equal  to  the  one-hundredth  part  of  one  yen ; 

*  [That  this  work  is  not  confided  to  American  firms 
only,  is  evidenced  by  the  following  telegram,  which  we 
cut  from  a  daily  paper  : — 

"  Paris,  16th  Oct. 

l<  The  Minister  of  Japan  and  the  Second  Japanese  Minis- 
ter of  Finance  have  left  for  Frankfort,  in  order  to  conclude 
a  new  arrangement  with  the  house  of  Dondorf  &  Co.,  for 
the  fabrication  of  Japanese  paper  money." — Ed.] 


one-half  sen,  equal  to  the  two-hundredth  part 
of  one  yen;  and  one  rin,  equal  to  the  one- 
thousandth  part  of  one  yen.  These  low  de- 
nominations are  absolutely  necessary  in  that 
land  of  plentiful  commodities  and  cheap 
labour." 


NOTES   ON  THE 
EARLY   STAMPS    OF   MOLDAVIA. 

BY   A   PARISIAN    COLLECTOR. 

Since  the  announcement  regarding  the  dis- 
covery of  a  postmarked  specimen  of  the  81 
paras,  which  appeared  in  The  Stamp-Collec- 
tor's Magazine  for  last  month,  and  also  in 
Le  Timbre-Poste,  we  have  had  an  opportunity 
of  examining  the  specimen  in  question,  and 
we  find  that  it  has  been  wrongly  described 
as  being  on  laid  paper.*  It  is  on  plain  wove 
paper,  not  showing  any  vergeures.  In  truth, 
a  further  examination  of  several  specimens 
of  these  early  Moldavian  stamps  has  led  us  to 
modify  our  opinions  in  so  far  as  that  the  ver- 
geures on  the  paper  must  be  regarded  as  a 
crucial  test  of  genuineness.  A  magnificent 
unsevered  pair  of  the  27  paras  are  now  in 
the  collection  of  Mr.  Philbrick,  in  which  the 
vergeures  are  scarcely  discernible;  and  in  our 
own  copy  they  are  very  faint  and  far  apart. 
Further,  in  a  lot  of  about  twenty  postmarked 
specimens  of  54  paras,  all  of  the  Magnus 
type  L,  we  found  a  copy  on  paper  in  which 
there  is  not  the  shadow  of  an  appearance  of 
vergeures,  and  which  may  be  regarded  as 
being  plain  wove. 

From  these  considerations,  therefore,  it 
seems  that  a  test  depending  upon  the  paper 
employed  must  be  abandoned,  and  that  we 
shall  be  compelled  to  seek  for  the  true  test  of 
genuineness  in  the  type. 

All  the  copies  of  the  27  paras,  now  num- 
bering seven  or  eight,  which  have  been  yet 
exhumed,  and  all  the  copies  of  the  54  and 
108  paras  of  the  Magnus  type  I.,  are  post- 
marked, and  no  specimens  of  these  stamps 
have  yet  been  found  postmarked  or  oblite- 
rated with  any  stamp  other  than  the  ordinary 

*  On  more  than  one  occasion  we  have  had  to  express 
our  admiration  of  the  great  acuteness  of  Dr.  Magnus.  On 
the  specimen  being  shown  to  him,  he  at  once  discovered 
that  the  supposed  vergeures  were  due  to  the  vergeures  on 
the  paper  of  the  letter  to  which  it  was  attached. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


175 


postal  handstam  p,  consisting  of  two  concentric 
circles,  within  the  upper  part  of  which  is  the 
name  of  the  town,  and  in  the  lower  part 
MOLDOVA.  Figures  within  the  inner  circle, 
in  moveable  types,  show  the  day  of  the 
month  and  the  number  of  the  month. 

We  have  examined  some  hundreds  of  spe- 
cimens of  the  first  type  of  the  40  and  80 
paras,  of  the  second  issue,  and  we  find  them 
obliterated  with,  two  kinds  of  postmarks,  and 
two  only.  The  one  is  the  postal  handstamp 
mentioned  above,  and  the  other  is  a  stamp 
of  various  forms,  with  the  word  franco  in 
the  upper  part,  and  the  name  of  the  town 
below.  This  latter  stamp  continued  in  use 
for  some  time,  and  its  use  is  evidently  sub- 
sequent to  that  of  the  circular  postal  hand- 
stamp.  It  is  therefore  clear  to  us  that  no 
obliterating  stamp,  properly  so  called,  was  in 
use  during  the  continuance  of  the  first  series, 
but  was  adopted  only  after  that  the  second 
series  had  been  in  use  for  some  considerable 
time;  as  out  of  every  hundred  specimens 
probably  one  half  will  be  found  bearing  the 
circular  obliteration.  This  circular  stamp- 
as  a  mode  of  obliteration,  gave  place,  as  we 
have  said,  to  an  obliterating  stamp  of  various 
shapes.  Each  town  appears  to  have  had  a 
shape  peculiar  to  itself;  but,  invariably, 
whatever  be  the  shape  of  the  stamp,  the 
word  franco  is  in  the  upper  part  and  the 
name  of  the  town  underneath.  Thus  the 
obliterating  mark  for  Jassy  is  an  oval,  in  the 
upper  part  of  which  is  franco,  and  in  the 
lower  jassy.  Galatz  has  two  marks,  the  one 
like  a  flag,  the  words  being  in  two  lines,  fol- 
lowing the  waves,  and.  separated  by  a  wavy 
line  ;  and  the  other  is  an  oval  with  "  No.  2  " 
in  the  centre  of  it.  Berlat  is  also  flag- 
shaped.  Botuschani  is  a  simple  parallelo- 
gram, the  woids  being  in  straight  lines,  se- 
parated by  a  line.  Baceu  is  an  oval,  with 
the  ends  cut  off  in  a  curve,  and  the  words 
separated  from  one  another  by  an  ornamental 
line.  The  designs  of  the  stamps  belonging 
to  Eokskani,  Pietra,  &c,  are  more  compli- 
cated, and  more  difficult  to  describe,  but 
they  all  tend  to  strengthen  our  proposi- 
tion. It  may  be  remarked  that  the  im- 
pressions of  the  circular  postal  handstamp 
are  most  commonly  in  thin  greenish  blue 
ink.     It  was  not  till  the  franco  obliterating 


stamps  came  in  that  we  find  obliterations  in 
carmine,  vermilion,  violet,  &c. 

We  will  now  ask  our  readers  to  turn  to 
the  sixth  volume  of  this  magazine,  where 
they  will  find  a  translation  of  Dr.  Magnus's 
valuable  monograph  on  the  Moldavian  stamps, 
as  it  appeared  in  Le  Timbre-Poste.'  This 
monograph  was  subsequently  reprinted  in 
the  form  of  a  pamphlet,  and  was  then  en- 
larged by  a  description  of  the  27  paras  just 
discovered  by  M.  Moens.  No  reprints,  no 
forgeries,*  no  fancy  impressions,  no  varieties 
of  type  of  this  latter  stamp  are  known,  and 
as  we  have  before  said,  every  specimen  yet 
discovered  is  marked  with,  the  circular 
postal  handstamp.  But  no  less  than  five 
varieties  of  the  54,  81,  and  108  paras  will  be 
found  there  described.  Of  these  we  have 
never  heard,  much  less  seen  any  specimens 
— other  than  those  of  the  type  No.  I.  of  the  54 
and  108  paras,  and  the  81  paras  just  dis- 
covered by  M.  Moens — obliterated  with  the 
circular  handstamp,  or  with  any  of  the 
obliterating  stamps  which  we  consider  super- 
seded the  use  of  the  circular  handstamp  as 
a  mark  of  obliteration,  and  continued  in 
service  throughout  the  rest  of  the  existence 
of  the  first  type  of  the  second  series.  We 
admit  to  having  seen  specimens  of  some  of 
the  other  types,  bearing  an  obliterating  mark, 
but  not  a  genuine  one,  as  we  believe,  or  one 
which  we  have  been  able  to  find  among  the 
true  marks. 

Referring  now  to  the  engravings  and  the 
description  of  types  I.  of  the  54  and  108  paras, 
our  readers  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the 
great  family  likeness  (as  remarked  by  Dr. 
Magnus,  vol.  vi.,  p.  52),  which  exists  between 
them,  especially  in  the  principal  features — the 
ears,  the  nostrils,  and  the  cheek-bones.  The 
opening  of  the  horn,  and  the  dotted  shading 
should  also  be  noticed.  On  comparing  these 
features  with  those  portrayed  on  the  27 
paras,  the  same  similarity  exists,  especially 
in  the  nostrils,  the  cheek-bones,  and  the 
triangular  shape  of  the  ears.     It  is  true  that 

*  [Our  esteemed  correspondent  is  in  error  in  supposing 
that  the  27  paras  stamp  has  never  been  forged :  we  had 
the  forgeries  sent  us  at  a  high  price  in  the  summer  of 
1871  :  they  came  from  an  honourable  source  ;  and  before 
they  had  got  distributed  our  correspondent  discovered  and 
informed  us  of  their  spurious  character,  and  they  were  all  re- 
turned to  him.   AVe  have  never  met  with  any  other.  —Ed  ] 


176 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTORS  MAGAZINE. 


the  ears  are  rather  more  open  in  the  27  paras, 
and  the  nostrils  are  a  trifle  less  parenthetical, 
bnt  the  likeness  is  very  striking, 

If  we  now  compare  these  with  the  newly- 
found  81  paras,  the  same  family  likeness  still 
exists  :  the  same  cheek-bones,  the  same  tri- 
angular ears,  the  same  parenthetical  nostrils 

On  further  comparing  this  81  paras  with 
the  types  described  by  Dr.  Magnus,  it  is 
found  to  belong  to  the  3rd  type,  the  similarity 
of  which  to  the  54  and  108  is  also  remarked, 
at  page  52,  by  Dr.  Magnus. 

It,  therefore,  appears  to  us  that  the  only 
types  belonging  to  the  stamps  of  the  first 
series  which  are  genuine,  are  the  following  : — 
27  paras         the  single  type 
54     „  1st  type 

81     „  3rd  type 

108     „  1st  type.  _ 

"With  regard  to  the  second  series,  we  agree 
with  what  Mr.  Overy  Taylor  stated  in  his 
paper  on  these  stamps.  That  the  first  type 
of  the  5,  40,  and  80  paras  is  good,  there 
cannot  be  a  doubt.  The  second  type  of  the 
5  paras,  and  of  the  40  and  80  paras,  is  much 
more  than  doubtful,  having  never  been  seen 
obliterated,  and  the  3rd  type  of  the  80  paras 
has,  we  believe,  never  been  seen  with  an 
authentic  obliteration. 

THE   "WEST   TOWN"   LOCAL. 

In  1859  the  "West  Town  Boarding  School," 
an  institution  located  in  West  Town  town- 
ship, Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  issued  a  local  postage 
stamp  for  the  prepayment  of  the  carriage  of 
all  outgoing  letters  between  the  institution 
and  the  nearest  post-office,  which  is  located 
at  Street  Road  station,  on  the  West  Chester 
and  Philadelphia  railroad,  a  distance  of  a 
mile  and  a  half.  The  income  derived  from 
the  sale  of  these  stamps  is  applied  to  the 
support  of  a  daily  stage-line  between  the 
station  and  the  school.  They  are  sold  at 
two  cents  each,  no  value,  however,  being  ex- 
pressed on  the  stamp. 

The  design  consists  simply  of  the  name 
west  town,  surrounded  by  a  wide  ornamental 
border.  They  are  printed  in  bronze,  by  the 
lithographic  process,  on  white  paper,  and  in 
sheets  which  are  composed  of  225  labels. 
The  annual  consumption  is  about  10,000,  or 


nearly  130,000  since  they  were  first  issued. 
The  stamp  remains  in  use  at  the  present 
time,  and  no  letter  is  forwarded  from  the  in- 
stitution to  the  post-office  unless  it  bears  one. 
The  customary  manner  of  affixing  it  is  to 
place  it  on  the  back  of  the  letter,  in  the  cen- 
tre, it  thus  serving  the  purpose  of  a  seal.* 

Counterfeits  of  the  stamp  are  in  existence, 
printed  on  coloured  paper,  the  genuine  being 
on  white. 

This  school  was  established  in  1799,  and  is 
intended  exclusively  for  the  benefit  of  the 
youth  of  the  religious  society  of  Friends, 
none  but  children  of  members  of  that  body 
being  allowed  to  attend  it.  The  number  of 
pupils  average  225. 

[The  foregoing  is  an  account  which  has 
been  furnished  us  by  an  American  corres- 
pondent, and  it  forms  a  striking  commentary 
on  an  offer  made  to  our  publishers,  some 
weeks  since,  by  an  American  collector,  of  a 
pair  of  West  Town  stamps  at  six  shillings 
each  ! 

Our  correspondent  sends  us  a  couple  of 
these  stamps,  uncut,  to  exemplify  the  mode 
of  printing.  The  under  one  of  the  two  is 
printed — relatively  to  its  companion — wrong 
side  up.  The  lettering  is  rather  rough,  and 
the  stamps  are  smaller  than  those  generally 
sold  as  West  Town  in  the  packets,  though  it 
may  be  that  there  have  been  two  emissions 
of  a  similar  type. — Ed.] 

ANSWERS  TO    CORRESPONDENTS. 

M.  H.  Carr,  Dublin.— We  certainly  prefer  the  ac- 
cepted construction  of  the  word  philately.  All  sciences 
are  endless.  There  is  always  something  to  discover, 
clear  up,  or  classify.  But  philately  signifies  a  love  of 
that  which  exempts  from  a  tax  or  charge ;  and  there- 
fore, as  at  present  understood,  it  indicates,  at  any  rate 
indirectly,  the  preference  felt  by  collectors  for  the  little 
rectangles  which  exempt  the  letters  to  which  they  are 
attached  from  a  charge. 

X.  X.  X. — The  English  penny  red  on  blue  paper,  fine 
perforations,  is  known  and  catalogued. — We  do  not 
chronicle  either  railway  or  fiscal  stamps. — The  Tuscany 
watermark  has  been  duly  noticed ;  the  envelope  for  the 
French  soldiers  in  Switzerland,  the  variety  of  the  3  kop. 
Russian,  and  other  varieties  of  postage  stamps  described 
by  you  have  all  been  treated  of  in  these  pages,  of  which 
we  must  beg  to  recommend  to  you  the  more  careful  peru- 
sal. 

*In  The  Stamp- Collector's  Guide  (Meriden,  Ct.), 
for  March,  1871,  a  brief  notice  of  this  stamp  will  be 
found,  inaccurate  in  several  particulars,  one  of  which  is 
the  date  of  issue,  it  being  given  as  18-3*2,  instead  ot  JS-39. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


177 


EVENTS   OF   THE   YEAR. 

A   DESULTORY   REVIEW. 
BY  THE  EDITOR. 

Ten  years  ago  stamp-collecting  was  a  very 
different  thing  from  what  it  is  now,  and  the 
contrast  forms  the  pride  of  every  true  phila- 
telist. Then  the  pursuit  was  in  its  veriest 
infancy,  unchristened,  save  with  the  sarcastic 
appellation  of  "  timbromania ;  "  yet  very 
much  talked  about.  The  daily  papers  on 
both  sides  of  the  channel  made  frequent  al- 
lusions to  it ;  The  Saturday  Revieiv,  in  its 
jaunty  way,  picked  it  to  pieces ;  All  the  Tear 
Bound  praised  it ;  the  French  play-writers 
joked  upon  it;  and  notwithstanding  the 
sneers  of  the  utilitarians,  all  the  world  and 
his  wife  went  on  collecting  stamps  because 
it  was  the  fashion  to  do  so.  At  the  present 
time  the  press  troubles  itself  but  rarely  about 
collectors.  To  the  general  public — the  out- 
siders— the  pursuit  is  a  mystery ;  and,  in 
fact,  it  is  so  far  ignored  by  those  Philistines 
that,  as  a  rule,  they  will  gravely  shake  their 
heads  at  you,  and  assure  you,  in  the  most 
positive  manner,  that  collecting  is  quite  a 
thing  of  the  past.  And  they  are  right  in 
one  sense,  for  to  the  harum-scarum  style  of 
amassing  stamps,  which  at  the  outset  was 
called  collecting,  has  succeeded  a  careful 
and  scientific  method,  which  lends  to  the 
work  a  charm  sufficient  to  fascinate  the  at- 
tention of  ripe  scholars  and  earnest  students. 
Men  of  all  ages  and  of  all  professions  find  in 
the  study  and  comparison  of  stamps  an  in- 
teresting and  instructive  recreation,  simply 
because  of  the  concentrated  attention  which 
such  an  occupation  demands.  Were  it  a 
mere  question  of  sticking  stamps  on  certain 
given  squares  the  work  would  be  too  trivial ; 
but  the  faculties  of  observation  and  classifi- 
cation are  called  into  constant  play  ;  and 
though  the  mind  may,  therefore,  be  almost 
as  much  engaged  as  during  the  day,  yet  the 
change  yields  repose.  Herein  lies  the 
strength  of  collecting,  and  herein  the  expla- 
nation of  the  fact  that  ten  years  after  its 
inauguration  it  retains  its  popularity.  If 
the  public  knows  nothing  about  the  progress 
of  collecting,  it  is  simply  because  philatelists 
have  literary  organs  of  their  own  ;  and  also 
because,  as  we  apprehend,  they  do  not  often 

VOL.  X.  Nos.  119-120. 


take  the  trouble  of  showing  their  albums  to 
persons  who  cannot  understand  them. 

We  may  be  told  that  these  observations 
are  truisms,  but  if  so  they  are  truisms  of  a 
very  pleasant  sort,  and  may  permissibly  be 
repeated  in  preface  of  a  review  of  the  events 
of  a  year  which  closes  the  first  decade  of 
stamp  collecting.  They  are  affirmations  of 
facts  on  which  an  old  collector  cannot  refrain 
from  dwelling  with  a  certain  fondness,  for 
they  represent  the  triumph  of  a  pursuit  once 
denounced  as  ephemeral,  and  enable  him  to 
look  forward  confidently  to  its  further  pro- 
gress and  consolidation. 

Passing  now  to  an  examination  of  the 
chief  occurrences  of  the  twelvemonth,  we 
come  first  of  all  to  the  literary  ventures  by 
which  it  has  been  marked,  among  which  we 
willingly  accord  the  first  place  to  the  publi- 
cation of  The  Philatelical  Journal.  It  has 
proved  itself  a  most  able  coadjutor  in  the 
study  of  stamps,  and  its  conductors  have  been 
animated  throughout  by  a  desire  to  serve  the 
best  interests  of  the  science.  Fully  con- 
vinced, as  we  are,  that  there  "  is  room 
enough  for  all,"  we  wish  our  contemporary 
good  speed,  and  regret  the  momentary  stop- 
page which  has  unfortunately  resulted  from 
the  illness  of  its  esteemed  editor.  We  trust 
also  that  before  long  we  may  be  favoured 
with  his  long-promised  essay  on  "  Perfo- 
rations," and  his  "History  and  Catalogue  of 
Postal  Reprints."  Next  in  importance  to 
the  Birmingham  journal  comes  the  Gazette 
des  Timbres,  edited  by  Dr.  Magnus.  If  we 
do  not  place  it  on  the  same  level  with  the 
former,  it  is  simply  because  it  treats  not  only 
of  postage  stamps,  but  of  a  crowd  of  fiscals, 
in  which  we  trust  it  will  be  long  before 
English  philatelists  take  an  interest.  In  as 
far  as  the  postal  section  is  concerned,  it  is 
needless  to  say  that  a  paper  edited  by  Dr. 
Magnus  can  hardly  be  surpassed.  His  as- 
sumption  of  the  editorial  chair  is  a  subject 
for  congratulation,  and  we  doubt  not  but 
that  the  Gazette  will  render  even  greater 
service  than  did  the  defunct  Tlmbrophile. 
Among  minor  lights  may  be  reckoned  The 
Stamp-Collector' s  Journal,  which  after  shining 
through  a  few  numbers  merged  its  existence 
in  that  of  The  American  Journal  of  Philately, 
a  magazine  which  has  fairly  held  its  place 


178 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


throughout  the  year,  and,  if  we  may  judge 
by  the  last  two  numbers,  has  decided  on 
making  a  worthy  effort  to  attain  a  higher 
position  as  an  authority  in  philatelic  matters. 
Across  the  Atlantic  The  Canadian  Philatelist 
has  appeared,  disappeared,  and  reappeared, 
we  trust,  for  good.  As  there  are  certainly 
a  great  many  collectors  in  the  Dominion,  the 
journal  should  meet  with  wide  support ;  and 
its  existence  will,  we  hope,  prove  an  incite- 
ment  to  philatelic  students  in  that  part  of  the 
world  to  make  public  the  results  of  their 
1  ibours.  To  the  foregoing  might  be  added 
the  names  of  half  a  dozen  journalettes  pub- 
lished in  the  United  States.  These  journals 
form  an  index  of  the  popularity  of  collecting, 
and  contain  occasional  items  of  interest,  but 
they  are  too  small  to  do  much  real  good. 
The  olJ-established  journals,  consisting  of 
L.  Timl  -e-Paste  a  magazine  of  exactly  the 
same  nge  as  the  S  M.  and  The  Philatelist 
have  maintained  their  reputation  as  standard 
authorities:  and  we  trust  we  may  be  permitted 
to  claim,  without  vanity,  that  we  have  fulfilled 
the  promise,"niade  a  year  since,  that  we  would 
sustain  the  excellence  of  this,  the  oldest  e£:  ;.'.;- 
lished  of  English  philatelic  organs. 

I  3  issue  of  fresh  editions  of  the  popular 
prepared  albums  has  occurred  almost  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and  forms  a  faithful  in- 
dication of  the  sustained  interest  in  the 
pursuit.  Moens',  Stafford  Smith's,  and 
Oppen's,  all  have  their  champions,  and  do 
their  work  as  aids  to  collectors  who  are 
unwilling  or  unable  to  arrange  their  p  ses- 
sions in  blank  albums.  In  like  manner,  the 
leading  dealers  continue  to  publish  their 
price  catalogues,  which,  if  they  do  not  contain 
a  reference  to  the  minor  varieties,  are  toler- 
ably complete  as  to  the  normal  ones.  To  the 
list  of  descriptive  catalogues,  no  addition  has 
to  be  made,  save  that  of  M.  Moens'  partly- 
issued  work.  Among  English  publications, 
Dr.  Gray's  catalogue  still  retains  its  su- 
premacy, and  we  trust  the  new  year  will  bring 
a  new  edition  of  this  old  favourite.  Mr.  Petn- 
berton  holds  out  the  promise  of  a  catalogue 
which  shall  include  all  known  vai 
we  earnestly  hope  that  this  promise  will 
be  realised  at  no  distant  date.  Meanwhile, 
Dr.  Magnus  has  commenced,  in  his  journal, 
t h e  pu blicit :  ir  w ork,  bu t  it  must 


inevitably  take  a  long  time  to  collect,  in  this 
way.  sufficient  "copy"  to  make  a  separate 
volume. 

The  general  bent  of  study  this  year  has 
been  in  conformity  with  the  tenets  of  the 
"French''  or  advanced  school;  even  the 
papers  nominally  intended  for  the  guidance 
of  beginners  showing  a  considerable  tendency 
towards  the  admission  of  varieties  of  second- 
ary importance.  This  same  tendency  has 
also  been  manifested,  to  a  certain  extent,  even 
by  our  American  cousins,  heretofore  the 
determined  opponents  of  the  recognition  of 
perforation,  paper,  and  watermarks.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  our  duty  to  notice  the  occur- 
rence of  a  certain  reaction  in  this  country 
against  the  too  great  extension  of  the  bound- 

i    aries  of  the  scieDce. 

The  gains  of  the  year,  in  the  matter  of 
philatelic  knowledge,  are  by  no  means  un- 
important. The  emissions  of  the  Dominican 
Republic,  Turkey,  Hawaii.  La   Guaira.  and 

!  Trinidad,  have  been  ably  analysed  in  the 
pages  of  our  contemporaries,  and  in  our  own 
the  uncertainties  which  surrounded  the  first 
issues  of  Moldavia  have  been  definitely  cleared 
up,  considerable  progress  has  been  made  in 
the  classification  of  the  United  States  locals, 

"■  and  a  commencement  has  been  made  of  the 
history  of  the  little-known  Californian  emis- 

:  sions.  These  are  a  few  of  the  leading  studies 
of  the  year,  to  which  must  be  added  the 
gibbeting  of  forged  stamps,  by  Mr.  Atlee,  in 
The  Philatelist,  and  the  exposures  of  the 
dealers  in  forgeries,  which  have  appeared 

1    our  own  and  our  Birmingham  contemporary's 

;   columns.     The  campaign  against  the  roguish 

I  dealers  has.  we  have  reason  to  believe,  been 
rnded  with  the  happiest  results.  That 
the  good  thus  done  may  be  made  permanent, 
we  appeal  to  our  friends  to  do  their  be^:  :  i 
increase  the  circulation  of  the  respectable 
journals.and  we  propose  to  set  apart  a  column 
every  month,  in  which  to  advert: se  constantly 
the  names  of  all  dealers  who  are,  or  have 
been,  discovered  to  be  engaged  in  the  sale  of 
forged  stamps. 

The  attention  paid  to  the  wants  of  that 
very  numerous  class  which  is  composed  of 
young  or  inexperienced  collectors,  is  a  subject 
ibr  congratulation.     T  are  for  Beg 

ners  "  which  are    being    published    in  tl 


THE   STAMP-  COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


179 


pages,  initiated  the  movement,  and  have  been 
favoured  with  far  wider  approval,  and  greater 
consideration,  than  their  author  had  antici- 
pated. Dr.  Magnus,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Avater,  has  begun  the  issue  of  a  similar  series 
of  papers  for  the  benefit  of  French  collectors, 
written  in  that  attractive  style  of  which  he 
is  so  peculiarly  master,  and  The  American 
Journal  of  Philately,  we  are  happy  to  see,  has 
commenced  the  publication  of  "  Notes  for 
Novices,"  and  "  Papers  for  Purchasers." 
These  introductions  to  la  haute philatelie  are 
certainly  needed,  and  they  form  a  suitable 
foundation  for  papers  of  a  more  erudite 
character,  such  as  the  "Notes  for  Collectors" 
which  appear  iu  these  pages,  or  the  Catalogue 
Raisonne  of  Dr.  Magnus. 

We  have  dwelt  thus  lengthily  on  the  con- 
ients  of  the  journals,  as  it  is  principally 
thereby  that  the  activity  of  the  philatelic 
world  can  be  gauged.  The  Philatelic  Society 
of  London  has  not  fulfilled  the  expectations 
at  one  time  entertained,  that  it  would  become 
the  medium  of  communication  between  col- 
lectors in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  of  all 
shades  of  opinion.  Its  failure  to  do  so  may 
have  arisen  from  the  fact,  that  the  journals 
have  always  offered  all  needful  facilities  for 
the  publication  of  intelligence,  and  the  dis- 
cussion of  disputed  questions.  We  had  cer- 
tainly hoped  to  see  established  branch  so- 
cieties in  all  the  leading  provincial  towns,  but 
wTe  are  now  convinced  that  this  cannot  be. 
Whether,  however,  a  general  congress,  or 
conference,  might  not  be  feasible  is  another 
affair.  We  are  inclined  to  think  that  one 
might  be  held  next  year  in  Paris — say,  in 
the  month  of  August  or  September — the 
exact  date  to  be  fixed  later  on ;  and  we  purpose 
inviting  such  of  our  readers  as  may  desire  to 
be  present  thereat  to  inform  us  in  advance. 
We  take  leave  to  recommend  our  confreres, 
should  their  opinion  be  the  same  as  ours  with 
regard  to  a  congress,  to  adopt  a  similar 
course,  as  when  once  the  number  of  intending 
visitors  be  approximately  ascertained,  ar-' 
rangements  might  be  made  for  putting  the 
scheme  into  a  definite  shape. 

Turning  now  to  the  emissions  of  the  year, 
we  find  a  very  varied  list  before  us,  in  which 
the  series  of  Fiji  and  Japan  hold  the  most 
prominent    places.      These    strange    visitors 


surprise  us  less  than  they  would  have  done  a 
few  years  back.  Postage  stamps  have  been 
issued  for  so  many  outlandish  places,  that  no 
new  emission,  however  secluded  or  uncivi- 
lised its  place  of  origin,  excites  an  amount  of 
attention  equal  to  that  which  it  would  have 
received  when  this  magazine  was  in  its 
second  or  third  volume,  and  this  is  the  natural 
result  of  a  close  and  constant  acquaintance 
with  stamps,  and  of  the  regular  apparition 
of  novelties.  The  Japanese  labels,  however, 
so  curious  in  their  design  and  in  all  their  de- 
tails, could  not  make  their  entrance  into  our 
albums  without  evoking  the  display  of  an  un- 
unusual  degree  of  interest;  and  the  Fijian 
stamps,  though  undistinguished  by  any  de- 
vice connecting  them  pointedly  with  the 
native  islands,  are  valued  from  the  striking 
evidence  they  bring  of  the  march  of  civili- 
sation in  Polynesia. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  foregoing  come 
the  issues  of  the  British  colonies.  Western 
Australia  has  added  to  its  attractive  designs 
one  yet  more  elegant  and  more  finely  exe- 
cuted— that  of  the  threepence  fawn.  Our 
very  old  acquaintances,  the  Cingalese  stamps, 
with  value  in  pence,  after  passing  through 
various  editions  and  changes  of  colour,  per- 
foration, &c,  have  been  at  length  set  aside, 
their  homely  designs  being  succeeded  by 
those  of  a  new  set,  with  value  in  cents.  The 
new  Cingalese  are  of  the  usual  De  La  Rue 
type,  handsome  and  delicate  ;  but  whilst 
admitting  their  excellence,  it  is  impossible  to 
avoid  regretting  that  they  should  give  fresh 
proof  of  the  too  great  uniformity  of  Messrs. 
De  La  Rue's  fabrications.  In  their  designs 
the  changes  are  rung  ad  infinitum  on  the 
arrangement  of  the  border,  but  that  is  all. 
The  fancy  portrait  remains  always  the  same, 
always  diademed,  always  facing  the  left. 
The  engravers,  however,  are  perhaps  less 
to  blame  than  their  patrons,  the  colonial 
officials,  who  sacrifice  all  other  considerations 
to  a  love  of  cheapness,  combined  with  a 
show  of  loyalty. 

The  Sierra  Leone  set  forms  a  welcome 
reinforcement  to  the  hitherto  solitary  postal 
representative  of  that  colony,  even  though 
the  designs  of  the  new  comers  be  less  graceful 
than  those  of  the  majority  of  the  si  amps 
"  launched  "  bv  the  same  firm. 


180 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


Prince  Edward  Island  Las  given  us  a  new 
series,  composed  of  types  of  unequal  merit 
and  inferior  execution  ;  and  the  emission  was 
hardly  completed,  before  the  appearance  of  a 
forgery  of  one  of  the  values — the  four  cents 
— which  surprised  everyone,  from  its  close 
imitation  of  the  genuine ;  added  to  this,  a 
fictitious  value — the  10  c. — was  concocted, 
and  palmed  off  on  the  cautious  editor  of  Le 
Timbre-Poste.  "When  we  have  mentioned  the 
issue  of  a  halfpenny  stamp  for  Jamaica,  and 
of  a  tenpenny  adhesive  and  two  envelopes 
for  Mauritius,  we  have  completed  the  list  of 
important  additions  to  our  colonial  series. 

Among  the  other  notabilities  of  the  year,  we 
must  not  forget  the  stamps  of  the  Portuguese 
Indies,  which,  in  their  exceeding  roughness 
and  crudeness,  carry  us  back  to  the  time 
when  colonial  first  emissions  were  nearly 
always  of  native  manufacture.  That  they 
will  soon  be  succeeded  by  a  better  executed 
type  is  only  a  reasonable  expectation.  The 
Persian  stamps,  referred  to  at  greater  length 
in  another  part  of  this  number,  are  deserving 
of ''honourable  mention";  but  whether  they 
really  are  "  this  year's  birds,"  remains  to 
be  seen.  The  type,  at  any  rate,  is  one  with 
which  we  have  been  long  acquainted. 

In  Europe,  there  has  been  no  lack  of  new 
emissions.  To  begiu  at  home,  our  own 
country  has  issued  a  new  sixpenny,  of  a 
design  which  is  at  once  novel  and  effective  ; 
France  has  begun  to  employ  a  new  type ; 
Holland  has  produced  a  handsome  series, 
graced  by  an  unusually  exact  portrait  of  the 
king  ;  Spain  also,  after  months  of  hesitation, 
has  adopted  a  type  containing  a  full-face, 
and  by  no  means  complimentary  portrait  of 
its  new  monarch  ;  Russia  and  Finland  have 
brought  out  post  cards  ;  Norway  has  started 
a  fresh  design  for  its  adhesives  ;  Roumania 
has  obtained  a  set  of  stamps  from  Paris, 
copied,  in  all  respects,  from  the  current 
French  ;  Germany  has  come  into  the  field 
with  two  series,  the  second  differing  from 
the  first  only  in  the  size  of  the  arms  ;  and  last, 
but  not  least,  a  number  of  Russian  locals 
have  been  issued  or  discovered.  The  interest 
felt  in  these  stamps  is  considerable,  and  is 
fully  warranted  by  their  unquestionably 
official  character,  as  also  by  the  peculiar 
circumstances  which  govern  their  emission. 


They  offer  a  more  tempting  field  to  the 
collector  of  locals  than  do  the  issues  of  the 
American  private  offices,  as  there  are  no 
reprints,  forgeries,  or  bogus  issues  to- confuse 
the  student,  and  there  is  hardly  a  design 
on  the  Russian  stamps  which  does  not  possess 
a  history  of  its  own. 

If  from  the  past  we  turn  to  the  future,  we 
find  an  emission  for  Burmah  among  the  pro- 
babilities. The  ambassadors  from  the  em- 
peror of  that  remote  country  are  now  making 
the  tour  cf  the  European  courts,  and  it  will 
surprise  us  if  the  postal  service  in  civilized 
parts  does  not  make  as  great  an  impression 
on  them  as  it  evidently  did  on  the  Japanese 
envoys.  Among  other  "may-be's"  the  is- 
sue of  a  new  set  for  Servia  should  be 
counted ;  the  South  African  republic  also 
owes  us  a  new  and  improved  design  ;  Siberia 
has  been  talked  of  as  likely  to  issue  stamps  ; 
and  the  Spanish  possessions  will  be  supplied 
with  a  fresh  portrait  of  the  king. 

Our  review  would  be  incomplete  did  we 
not  mention  the  increased  favour  with  which 
telegraph  stamps  have  been  regarded.  Due 
recognition  has  been  accorded  to  them  as 
twin-brethren  to  the  postal  emissions,  and 
one  of  our  contemporaries  has  commenced  the 
publication  of  a  catalogue  of  them,  which  in- 
cludes the  labels  of  private  companies.  For 
our  own  part,  we  feel  inclined  to  restrict  our- 
selves to  the  more  interesting  and  better  ac- 
credited government  emissions  ;  and  to  these 
we  purpose  shortly  turning  our  attention. 

We  have  now  only  left  to  us  the  pleasant 
duty  of  wishing  our  readers  A  veey 
Merry  Christmas. 

THE   POST   OFFICE   PAVILION   OF 

THE   MOSCOW 

RETROSPECTIVE   EXHIBITION. 

On  the  11  th  June  last  there  was  opened 
at  Moscow,  on  the  occasion  of  the  fetes 
given  in  honour  of  Peter  the  Great,  a 
grand  retrospective  exhibition,  comprising 
among  others  a  post-office  pavilion.  This 
pavilion  (says  the  Nord,  whence  we  borrow 
the  following  interesting  details)  was  situ- 
ated in  the  second  garden  of  the  Kremlin, 
and  was  of  very  elegant  construction.  It 
contained  all  the  objects  connected  with  the 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


181 


postal  service,  and  gave  a  very  exact  idea  of 
the  development  of  the  postal  relations  from 
the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great  down  to  the 
present  time.  Nowhere  does  the  service  offer 
so  much  variety  as  in  Russia,  where  the  mail 
is  transported  by  train,  in  covered  carts,  on 
sledges,  in  steam-boats,  in  canoes,  on  horse- 
back, ox-back,  and  camel-back,  and  even  by 
carriers  on  foot  in  places  where  no  other 
animal  than  man  could  push  his  way. 
With  this  idea,  the  postal  administration  got 
together  a  very  remarkable  collection  of 
pictures  and  groups,  representing  the  differ- 
ent methods  by  which  letters  are  conveyed. 

Besides  this  there  was  a  most  complete 
collection  of  pictures  illustrating  the  gradual 
spread  of  the  postal  system  from  the  days  of 
Peter  the  Great,  when  regular  communica- 
tions were  only  established  between  Moscow 
and  a  few  towns  in  the  west,  down  to  the 
present  year,  when  the  network  of  postal 
communications  envelops  the  entire  extent 
of  the  vast  empire  of  Russia,  from  its  borders 
on  the  European  side,  right  into  the  heart  of 
Asia  and  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Other  pictures  and  engravings  contained 
views  of  the  principal  streams  and  mountains 
showing  the  points  at  which  the  post  crosses, 
and  among  the  most  interesting  of  the 
groups  modelled  in  wax  was  one  which  re- 
presented the  passage  of  the  mails  through 
the  transcaucasian  defiles.  There  was  also 
a  collection  of  carrier-pigeons,  and  a  model 
of  the  post-cart  of  the  extreme  north,  repre- 
senting a  postal  sledge  harnessed  by  dogs 
and  reindeer. 

The  postal  exhibition  contained,  moreover, 
the  most  complete  collection  of  postage 
stamps  and  stamped  envelopes,  together 
with  the  different  receptacles  for  the  corres- 
pondence, such  as  valises,  sacks,  &c,  not  to 
mention  that  the  actual  sorting  and  re- 
forwarding  of  the  letters  was  conducted  in 
public  in  an  office  worked  by  employes  of 
the  Moscow  post-office,  much  to  the  satisfac- 
tion both  of  the  exhibitors  and  the  visitors, 
the  latter  being  thus  able  to  receive  and 
forward  their  correspondence  without  quit- 
ting the  ground. 

Several  foreign  post-offices  deemed  it  an 
honour,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of 
Peter  the  Great,  to  exhibit  ther  models,  &c, 


by  the  side  of  those  of  the  Russian  adminis- 
tration. Thus  the  postal  departments  of 
Germany,  Austria,  Sweden,  and  the  United 
States  forwarded  their  maps,  plans,  and 
representations  of  all  their  postal  materiel, 
thus  enabling  the  public  (the  Russian  em- 
ployes included)  to  make  useful  and 
judicious  comparisons  on  the  extent  of  the 
development  of  the  postal  service  in  different 
countries. 


WHAT   IS   A   POSTAGE    STAMP? 

BY  OVERY  TAYLOR. 

(Second  Article.) 
I  have  read  with  much  interest  the  replies 
which  have  appeared  in  The  Stamp- Collector's 
Magazine  and  The  Philatelist  to  my  inquiry, 
"What  is  a  Postage  Stamp?"  and  as  I 
believe  it  to  be  of  importance  that  we  should 
arrive  at  some  clear  and  logical  definition  of 
the  term,  I  take  leave  to  examine  the 
arguments  which  have  been  advanced  by 
those  who  are  disposed  to  give  an  answer  to 
the  query,  more  or  less  differing  from  my 
own. 

I  take  Mr.  Atlee's  letter  first,  because  his 
conclusions  approach  nearer  to  mine.  He  is 
disposed  to  agree  with  me,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, as  to  the  rejection  of  official  and  un- 
paid-letter stamps,  and  as  to  the  acceptance 
of  registration  and  too-late  stamps.  His 
principal  difficulty  is,  that  with  regard  to 
unpaid-letter  stamps.  No  fair  reason,  he 
argues,  can  be  given  for  excluding  the  large 
impressed  figures  or  mere  penmarks  by  which 
countries  such  as  our  own  indicate  the 
amount  to  be  paid  by  the  receiver  of  a  letter. 
But  I  think  there  is  a  reason,  and  a  very 
strong  one  too.  Whilst  adhesive  stamps, 
as  I  pointed  out  in  my  previous  article,  are 
the  legitimate  offshoots  of  the  postal  system, 
handstruck  or  written  figures  are  the  relics  of 
the  old  system  which  it  superseded.  The 
offices  which  use  them  have  not  yet  perceived 
the  utility  of  employing  stamps  for  the  col- 
lection of  unpaid  postage,  they  find  the  old 
plan  works  satisfactorily  ;  but  so  long  as  they 
continue  to  use  pen-and-ink,  or  handstamps, 
they  are,  in  this  particular  branch  of  the 
service,  a  quarter  of  a  century  behind  the 
age.     The  collection  of  postage  by  means  of 


182 


TEE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


stamps  was  an  essential  concomitant  of  the 
adoption  of  Rowland  Hill's  scheme ;  without 
stamps  it  could  not  have  worked,  and, 
therefore,  I  argue  that  philatelists  may,  with- 
out inconsistency,  reject  those  handtnarks 
which,  long  before  the  introduction  of  cheap 
postage,  were  used  to  show  the  amount  of 
postage  payable  on  delivery.  I  willingly 
admit  that  this  argument  has  only  recently 
presented  itself  to  me,  and  I  have  to  thank 
Mr.  Atlee  for  it,  for  it  was  upon  facing  his 
objection,  that  I  arrived  at  it.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  add,  that  my  observations  do 
not  apply  to  handstamped  adhesives  or 
envelopes  proper,  which  are  issued  to  the 
public.  As  to  the  official  stamps,  for  the 
reasons  already  given,  my  own  opinion  is 
that  neither  adhesives  nor  impressed  are 
properly  collectable ;  but  with  regard  to  the 
former,  many  collectors  would  rather  trans- 
gress the  bounds  of  logic,  than  turn  them  out 
of  their  albums. 

The  editor  of  The  'Philatelist  cannot  have 
read  the  whole  of  my  observations  in  the 
September  number  of  The  Stamp-Collector'1  s 
Magazine,  or  he  would  hardly  assert  that  I 
make  prepayment  the  spinal  marrow  of  a 
postage  stamp.  If  he  will  kindly  refer  to 
my  remarks  respecting  unpaid-letter  stamps, 
he  will  find  that  I  argue  for  their  inclusion, 
because, "  though  these  stamps  do  not  prepay, 
they,  nevertheless,  represent  postage;"  but  I 
do  think  that  payment  of  the  stipulated  ! 
value  at  one  end  or  the  other  is  necessary  to 
constitute  a  postage  stamp.  The  learned 
editor  inveighs  against  any  attempt  to  curtail 
the  borders  of  philately.  In  this  I  cannot 
but  think  he  shows  a  certain  degree  of  in- 
consistency. He  is  willing  to  make  use  of 
the  argument  of  logicality  to  justify  the  col- 
lection of  varieties  of  perforation,  paper,  &c, 
but  objects  to  it  when  its  application  would 
tend  in  any  degree  to  limit  the  number  of 
collectable  stamps.  Now,  what  I  venture 
strongly  to  condemn  is  the  attempt  to  invest 
certain  stamps  with  attributes  they  do  not 
possess  for  the  sake  of  rendering  them  ob- 
jects of  collection.  It  is  a  very  arbitrary 
way  of  going  to  work  to  say,  Let  us  call  a 
returned-letter  stamp  a  postage  stamp,  that 
we  may  collect  it.  If  that  be  the  proper 
course  to  pursue,  there  is  nothing  to  be  said, 


for  from  the  moment  a  label  is  chronicled  or 
catalogued  it  becomes  de  facto  a  postage 
stamp.  The  editor  of  The  Philatelist  advo- 
cates the  admission  of  "  labels  of  a  quasi- 
postal  character," — but  why  ?  Where  is  the 
necessity  for  this  vague  and  indefinite  exten- 
sion of  the  philatelic  field  ?  With  a  single, 
clear,  and  well-defined  object  in  view,  a  col- 
lector knows  what  he  is  about,  and  has 
something  to  strive  for ;  but  divided  aims 
may  well  lead  to  a  diluted  interest  being- 
taken. 

The  editor  of  The  Philatelist  in  one  sen- 
tence speaks  of  the  "  tendency  to  yield  points 
of  more  or  less  importance  to  the  science;'' 
in  another  he  says,  "  Lot  each  individual 
collector  do  as  he  likes."  Here  again  it 
appears  to  me  his  remarks  involve  a  con- 
tradiction. If  the  editor  regards  philately 
as  a  science,  it  is  equivalent  to  admitting  that 
the  pursuit  of  collecting  must  be  guided  by 
certain  rules,  and  the  very  first  of  such  rules 
must  be  that  which  defines  collectable  stamps. 
Nothing  can  be  more  fatal  to  philately  as 
a  science  than  the  mere  fact  of  such  a 
distinguished  student  as  the  editor  of  The 
Philatelist  telling  collectors  to  do  as  they 
please.  It  is  true,  he  adds  to  this  the  re- 
commendation not  to  "  tamper  with  that 
science  which  delights  us  all ; "  but  that  must 
be  a  curious  science  which  admits  of  everyone 
doing  just  as  he  likes,  and  still  collecting 
scientifically.  Would  it  not  be  better  if  a 
congress,  or  conference,  of  some  kind  could 
be  held,  having  for  its  principal  object  the 
declaration  of  certain  leading  principles  or 
rules,  to  be  subscribed  by  those  present  ? 
Then  we  should  have  a  definite  standard  to 
goby. 

For  my  own  part,  I  beg  respectfully  to 
object  to  arbitrary  definitions  of  the  term 
postage  stamp — such  as  that  of  ;'  P.  I.  A.,"  in 
the  October  number  of  The  Stamp-Collector  s 
Magazine — made  for  the  purpose  of  justifying 
the  collection  of  all  classes  of  labels.  It 
appears  to  me  like  beginning  at  the  wrrong 
end.  It  is  not  necessary  to  find  out  what 
labels  collectors  are  in  the  habit  of  accepting, 
and  then  to  christen  them  all  postage  stamps. 
It  would  be  more  reasonable  to  determine 
first  of  all  what  is  a  postage  stamp  in  the 
true  acceptation  of  the  term,  and  having  thus 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


183 


obtained  a  definition  in  accordance  with  fact, 
it  would  follow  that  all  stamps  which  it  did 
not  cover  were  without  the  pale.  This 
would  not  prevent  individuals  from  accepting 
mere  postal  stamps  if  they  chose,  but  such 
stamps  would  be  relegated  to  their  proper 
place,  and  would  cease  to  receive  an  amount 
of  attention  and  study  which,  taken  as  a 
whole,  they  are  not  worth.* 

SIDNEY   SIMPSON  &  CO.,   OF  HULL,   j 
DEALERS   IN  FORGED   STAMPS. 

We  open  our  columns  willingly  to  give  an 
advertisement,,  gratis,  to  the  above-mentioned 
firm,  and  we  only  trust  it  will  be  seen  and 
read  by  all  our  readers.  Messrs.  Sidney 
Simpson  &  Co.  will  not,  perhaps,  like  the 
qualification  which  follows  their  name,  but  it 
expresses  the  simple  fact.  It  is  a  twelve- 
month since  we  first  published  their  address, 
as  a  warning  to  collectors,  and  they  have 
since  been  pilloried  in  the  "  Black  List "  of 
The  Philatelical  Journal. 

The  circumstances  under  which  we  have 
come  into  possession  of  evidence  of  their 
dealing  are  simply  these:  A  short  time 
since,  a  friend  of  Messrs.  Taylor  &  Son, 
Stationers,  of  Scarborough,  received  from 
Sidney  Simpson  &  Co.  a  sheet  of  forged 
stamps  on  sale,  and  Messrs.  Taylor  have 
kindly  forwarded  it  to  us,  together  with  the 
circulars  by  which  it  was  accompanied. 

The  sheet  is  a  ruled  one,  contains  98 
labels,  in  seven  rowrs  of  fourteen,  and  bears 
the  following  legend  at  the  top,  in  one  line : 

"Foreign  Postal  Stamps  for  Collectors, 
all  at  Id.  each.     No " 

In  fact,  except  for  a  slight  change  in  the 
wording  and  disposition  of  the  lettering,  it 
is  identical  in  all  respects  with  the  sheets  of 

*  Since  the  above  has  been  in  type  I  have  read  the 
observations  of  my  learned  friend,  Senor  Pardo  de 
Figueroa,  in  re.ply  to  my  queries.  I  regret,  but  am  not 
altogether  surprised,  that  he  should  disagree  with  my 
conclusions,  especially  as  regards  the  collection  of  official 
stamps.  To  him  the  question  "  What  is  a  postage  stamp  ? " 
is  no  more  a  question  than  "  AVho  was  the  father  of 
Zebedee's  children?"  and  he  declares  himself  to  be  in 
favour  of  the  admission  of  all  classes.  He  does  not, 
however,  support  his  declaration  by  any  reason  whatever. 
I,  on  my  side,  must  therefore  content  myself  by  register- 
in  2:  it. 


forgeries  sent  out  by  Mr.  C.  C.  Dixon,  of 
Hull,  and  exposed  at  pige  171  of  our  last 
volume.  Nearly  all  the  counterfeits  are  of 
the  commonest  class,  and  are  old  acquaint- 
ances ;  we  recognise  among  them  the  too- 
familiar  Mexican,  Pacific  Steam  Navigation 
Co.,  and  first  issue  Brazil ;  the  current  Boli- 
vian, the  Paraguay  essay,  the  forgery  of  the 
Guatemala  invention,  and  the  new  series  for 
the  Dutch  Indies.  One  or  two  novelties  are 
added  to  keep  pace  with  the  times ;  notably 
the  penny  and  threepenny  Fiji.  They  oujht 
not  to  impose  on  anyone,  but  it  is  to  bo 
feared  that  a  great  many  young  lads  are 
swindled  out  of  their  money ;  and  it  is  a 
great  pity  that  the  matter  has  not  hitherto 
been  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  police. 
However,  we  trust  that  the  day  of  legal  pro- 
secutions is  not  far  distant.  Meanwhile,  we 
are  determined  to  do  our  best  to  put  down 
so  abominable  a  system. 

That  the  trade  in  forgeries  is  a  lucrative 
one  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  Messrs. 
Sidney  Simpson  &  Co.  can  offer  their  penny 
counterfeits  at  tenpence  a   dozen,  and   still 
allow  a  commission  of  fine-pence  in  the  shilling 
to  the  persons  who  are  foolish  enough  to  act 
as   their  agents  ;  in   other  words,  they   can 
afford  to  sell  them  at  sixpence  per  dozen  net, 
and    still    clear    a    good    profit.      In    their 
packets    the    same   forgeries   are  quoted  as 
on    the    sheets.     For    a    shilling    they    offer 
stamps    of    Bolivia,    Paraguay,    Hayti,    and 
Ecuador,  "and  other  equally  rare  varieties  ; " 
and  the  bait  by  which  unsophisticated  buyers 
are   attracted  is  the   obliteration   of  all  the 
specimens.     It  cannot  be  too  often  repeated 
that  obliteration,  in  itself,  offers  no  guarantee 
of  genuineness  ;  and  there  is  another  equally 
important  fact  which  requires  to  be  impres- 
sed on  young   collectors,    which  is,  that  no 
stamp  wrhich  is  sold  at  so  low  a  price  as  a 
penny  can  possibly  be  rare.     Lastly,  let  "be- 
ginners," whatever  their  age,  be  careful  to 
observe  whether  the  stamps  which  may  be 
offered    to    them    are    guaranteed     to     be 
genuine  ;  if  not,  the  stamps  are  almost  cer- 
tain to  be  forced. 


Eomagna  Stamps. — Clever  obliterated  forgeries  of 
these  stamps  are  now  being  offered  for  sale  by  Italian 
dealers :  a  full  description  of  them  will  be  given  in  our 
January  number. 


184 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZIXE. 


NEWLY-ISSUED    OR   IXEDITED 
STAMPS. 

Guatemala. — The  annexed  engraving,  copied 
from  a  very  heavily-marked  specimen  of  the 
stamp  it  professes  to  represent,  first  appeared 
in  the  Belgian  jonrnal  for 
last    month,    whose    pro- 
prietor we  have  to  thank 
for  the  nse  of  it.     It  does 
not  profess  to  be  a  correct 
copy  of  the   design,  and 
we  have  reason  to  believe 
it  to  be  a  very  incorrect 
one.     TVe  do  not  possess 
a    specimen    of   this    one 
peso  stamp ;    but    we  have   a  rather  badly- 
marked    specimen    of  another  value — the  4 
reales — and  presume  the  design  of  the  two 
stamps  to  be  identical.    Starting  with  this  as- 
sumption, we  find  that  the  arms  on  the  shield 
are  totaUr  .   fere  ::  from  those  on  the  engrav- 
ing.    The  central  item  in  the  device  is  an  up- 
right blank  scroll,  with  a  blank  band  below, 
and.  as  nearly  as  we  can  make  out,  the  hilts  of 
two  crossed  swords,  of  which  the  points  pro- 
ject,  one  on  either  side,  behind  the    scroll. 
On  the  left  side,  what  should  be  the  half  of  a 
wreath  is  clearly  visible  ;  but,  on  the  right 
side  there  appears  to  be  another  ornament ; 
and  there  is  something,  but  we  cannot  make 
out  what,  perched  on  the  scroll.     The  ground 
of  the  shield  is  formed  of  horizontal  straight 
lines,  and  the  border,  which  surrounds  the 
shield,  has  a  dotted  ground.     Eurthermore, 
before  and  after  the  inscription  in  the  oval 
there  is  an  elongated  rosette.     Thus  much  in 
correction  of  our  engraving  ;  we  hope  that 
very  shortly  the  arrival  of  unused  specimens 
will  enable  us  to  give  an  exact  copy  of  the 
design.     For  stamps,  which  are  evidently  of 
native  fabrication,  the  execution  is  certainly 
creditable.     It    is    hardly    necessary  to  add 
that  they,  nevertheless,  form  a  striking  con- 
trast to  the  finished  Parisian    productions, 
which  alone  have  hitherto  been  received  from 
Guatemala.     The  native  artists  have  copied, 
in   a    general    way,   the    disposition    of  the 
French    engraver;    but    the  change   in  the 
arms  is  a  striking  fact,  of  which  the  expla- 
nation is  most  desirable.     The  colour  of  the 
4  reales  is  mauve :  that  of  the  1  peso  yel- 


*    -h^Hr.JhTT 


low.  Both  are  on  white  paper,  and  perfo- 
rated 12.  The  Philatelist  mentions  a  1  real 
yellow,  on  the  strength  of  a  correspondent's 
report ;  but  the  value  is  probably,  as  given 
by  Iff.  Moens,  1  peso,  though  it  may  well  be 
that  other  values  exist. 

Roumahia. — The  Danubian  principalities 
have  at  length  bid  adieu 
to  lithographed  designs, 
and  now  possess  a  series 
of  stamps  brand-new  from 
Paris.  If  we  did  not  & 
that  they  came  from  the 
Hotel  de  la  Monnaie.  we 
should  very  soon  find 
out,  for  the  new  Rou- 
manian stamps  resemble 
the  French  in  the  following  points  :  — 

1. — The  border  (Greek  pattern). 
2. — The  inscriptions  and  their  disposition  ; 
name  of  country  above  ;   figure  of 

value  on  each  side  the  word  J  : 

below. 
3. — The  circle  (pearled). 
4. — The  perforation  (13J). 
5. — The  tinting  of  the  paper. 
6. — The  colours  ; 

and  the  French  check-mark.  Oontrole  T.P.,i\\ 
a  transverse  oval,  is  found  at  the  bottom  of 
each  sheet.  After  this  it  may  be  as  well  to 
state  that  the  profile  is  that  of  Prince 
Charles.  The  very  fact  that  these  stamps 
resemble,  in  so  many  particulars,  the  French, 
is  a  sufficient  testimony  to  their  elegance. 
The  values  are  as  follows  :  — 


n 

3" 

bani 

olive-green  (for  journals), 
bright  green. 

•j 

10 

15 

J3 
15 
53 

bistre, 
bright  blue, 
red-brown. 

2-3 

3J 

orange. 

50 

rose. 

The    combinations    of  the  national  colours, 
which  marked  the  previous   series,   are  no 
,    longer  in  favour. 

Russian  Locals. — AVe  have  this  month 
two  new  locals  to  chronicle,  whose  claims  to 
distinction  on  the  score  of  elegance  are  of  the 
slenderest.  Both  are  introduced  to  public 
notice  bv  M.  Moens. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


185 


Aleicsandrowsh  (Ekaterinoslav). — This  is 
evidently  a  type-set  stamp,  and  the  orna- 
ments which  form 
the  circle  bear  a 
close  resemblance 
to  the  portraits  of 
the  house-fly  which 
adorn  the  fatal  fly- 
papers. The  in- 
scription rather  cu- 
riously reads  stamp, 

RURAL  POST  OF  ALEK- 

sandriisk;  and  yet. 
the  stamp  really  comes  from  Aleksandrowsk 
— and  not  from  Aleksandriisk,  a  small  town 
in  the  Growno  government,  which  does  not 
possess  a  rural  post,  nor  from  Aleksandrow,  in 
the  Vladimir  government.  The  signs  in  the 
centre  of  the  stamp  form  the  abbreviation  of 
rural  post  stamp.  The  value  of  this  oddity  is 
10  kop.  The  impression  black  on  chamois- 
coloured  paper,  unperforated. 

■Rjeff' — The  annexed  design  may,  or  may 
not,  be  that  of  a  postage  stamp.  The 
inscription  reads 
simply  rural  ad- 
ministration OF 
the  district  of 
rjeff.  Neither  of 
the  words  "  post" 
nor  "stamp"  oc- 
curs, and  it  is  far 
from  improbable 
that  this  is  a  simple 
seal  of  the  rural  ad- 
ministration. There  is  a  second  and  similar 
type,  differing  merely  in  the  disposition  of 
the  three  stars,  of  which  two  are  against 
the  margin  and  one  above.  Time  will  prove 
what  importance  should  be  attached  to  this 
type ;  for  our  part  we  prefer  to  regard  it  as 
an  official  seal,  and  not  a  postage  stamp. 

Charlcoff. — M.  Moens  gives  currency  to  a 
report  that  the  5  kop.  of  this  district  has 
been  issued  in  blue,  as  an  unpaid-letter 
stamp  ;  that  is  to  say  (in  so  far  as  these 
locals  are  concerned),  for  the  collection  of 
postage  on  letters  to  the  district. 

Bogorodsh. — We  possess  a  blue  5  kop.  en- 
velope of  the  second  type.  Our  Brussels 
contemporary  also  chronicles  a  5  kop.  enve_ 
lope  of  the  first  type,  printed  deep  blue,  and  0f 


various  sizes.  The  blue  stamps,  bands,  and 
envelopes  are  used  for  letters  from  the  dis- 
trict to  the  town,  and  the  red  (except  the 
1  kop.)  for  letters  from  the  town  to  the  dis- 
trict. The  issue  of  so  many  stamps  by  this 
post  may  be  taken  as  an  indication  of  its 
importance. 

Elizavetgrad. — The  stamp  here  represented 
was  the  first  issued  for  the  Elizavetgrad  dis- 
trict, and  was  super- 
seded by  the  similar 
design  which  we  re- 
cently reproduced. 
The  value,  it  will  be 
seen,  is  5  kop. ;  the 
colour  is  carmine. 
On  being  examined 
through  a  magnifier, 
an  inscription  is  seen 
on  the  side  of  the  book,  signifying  rural 
administration  act.  In  a  short  time  we  hope 
to  be  able  to  give  our  readers  some  informa- 
tion as  to  the  general  working  of  the  system 
of  rural  administration,  to  which  reference 
is  here  made. 

Cuba. — Another  emission  !  Before  one  can 
get  on  intimate  terms  with  one  series,  another 


makes  its  appearance ;  and  what  good  pur- 
pose can  be  served  by  this  perpetual  shuf- 
fling of  types  we  are  at  a  loss  to  conceive. 
However,  our  duty  as  ushers  is  simply  to  in- 
troduce the  guests  which  claim  admission  to 
philatelic  pages,  and  not  to  criticise  the  mo- 
tives for  their  appearance.  The  annexed  de- 
signs are  as  yet  known  only  from  proofs,  of 
which  have  been  struck  off  in  the  following 
values  : — 

First  type. 

12,  12J,  25,  50  c.  de  peseta. 

Second  type. 

Una  peseta. 
As  M.  Moens  justly  observes,  it  is  probable 


186 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


that  the  12  c.  will  not  be  issued,  the  12J  c. 
being  just  the  half  of  the  25  c.  values.  The 
colours  are  not  yet  known. 

Persia. — We  have  received  no  farther  de- 
tails respecting  the  series  supposed  to  have 
been  recently  issued  for  this  country;  but 
we  have  had  a  communication  from  an  es- 
teemed correspondent  (Mr.  J.  C.  Wilson), 
which  leads  us  to  believe  that  the  emission 
of  the  series  took  place  a  considerable  time 
back.   Mr.  Wilson's  letter  reads  as  follows  : — 

I  notice,  in  your  magazine  for  November,  that  you 
mention  a  new  stamp  for  Persia,  as  chronicled  by  Dr. 
Magnus,  in  the  Gazette  des  Timbres  ;  the  design  seeming 
familiar  to  me,  I  searched  amongst  a  quantity  of  odds  and 
ends  and  found  the  enclosed.  You  will  see  that  it  agrees 
in  every  particular  with  your  engraving,  the  only  excep- 
tion being  that  the  value  in  the  angles  is  "  1,"  instead  of 
"4"  as  figured  in  the  wood-cut.  I  had  put  the  stamp 
aside  long  ago  as  a  worthless  imposture,  although,  when  I 
come  to  think,  I  must  have  possessed  it  some  time  before 
forgeries  were  manufactured  ;  but  I  can  only  speak  from 
memory  as  regards  this. 

Mr.  Wilson's  specimen  answers  to  our  de- 
sign, but  differs  to  some  extent  from  Dr. 
Magnus's  description.  It  is  not  roughly 
printed ;  on  the  contrary,  every  detail  is 
clearly  visible,  and  the  paper,  though  thin,is 
of  a  certain  consistency.  It  is  postmarked, 
and  the  look  of  the  obliteration  is  the  only 
suspicious  point  about  it,  consisting,  as  it 
does,  of  eight  horizontal  lines,  forming  part, 
apparently,  of  a  lozenge  ;  this  strikes  us  as 
being  rather  an  unlikely  mark  for  a  country 
like  Persia.  The  stamp  is  coloured  a  light 
vermilion,  and  perforated  13.  Taken  alto- 
gether, we  are  inclined  to  believe  it  to  be 
genuine,  whilst,  however,  reserving  our  final 
opinion  until  the  arrival  of  more  positive  in- 
telligence. 

Luxemburg. — A  fresh  supply  of  the  1  c, 
20  c,  and  25  c.  was  printed  off  at  Frankfort  in 
March  last.  The  first-named  value  returns 
to  the  colour  it  had  in  1865 — a  light  red- 
brown,  with  perforation  on  a  line  of  colour; 
the  20  c.  becomes  light  chocolate,  and  the 
25  c.  dull  blue.  These  stamps  will  not  be 
issued  for  another  three  or  four  months,  says 
Le  Tlmbre-Poste,  from  which  we  gather  these 
details.  It  states,  in  addition,  that  the  37| 
centimes  is  now  a  useless  stamp,  there  being- 
no  longer  any  postal  rate  corresponding  there- 
with ;  the  supplies  are  consequently  to  be 
called  in,  and  the  value  of  the  stamp  will  be 


changed  to  one  franc  by  the  surcharge,  in 
black,  of  the  inscription  UN  franc  on  the 
scroll,  which  now  bears  the  present  denomi- 
nation ;  and  when  the  stock  of  this  pro- 
visional stamp  shall  have  been  exhausted  a 
new  type  will  be  chosen. 

France. — A  committee  has  just  been  con- 
stituted by  ministerial  order,  charged  with 
the  duty  of  designating  the  modification 
which  it  may  be  desirable  to  apply  to  the 
fabrication  of  postage  stamps,  and  will  also 
have  to  deeide  whether  it  would  not  be  ad- 
visable to  get  the  stamps  printed  by  private 
contract.  Several  deputies  have  had  inter- 
views with  the  French  finance  minister  with 
reference  to  the  reduction  of  the  interior 
postal  rate  to  20  centimes,  and  it  is  said  that 
M.  Wolowski  is  again  about  to  propose  the 
issue  of  post  cards. 

Beemuda. — The  Philatelist  says  :  "  Some 
delay  in  the  issue  of  the  expected  threepenny 
Bermuda  stamp  has  taken  place,  owing  to 
certain  of  the  authorities  desiring  to  employ 
a  type  bearing  our  Queen  as  a  widow,  like 
that  employed  for  some  Newfoundlands  and 
Canadian  bill-stamps.  Being  deterred,  how- 
ever, by  the  representations  of  their  more 
economical  fellows  that  the  expense  would  be 
considerable,  the  head  in  present  use  will  be 
employed,  with  the  necessary  alterations." 

Argentine  Republic. — The  5  c.  Rivadavia 
of  the  1864  type,  which  had  been  recalled 
into  temporary  circulation,  is  now  again  "  out 
of  commission,"  after  a  currency  lasting 
only  from  the  14th  to  the  30th  June,  a  fresh 
supply  of  the  5  c.  of  the  1867  type  having 
been  printed  off  in  red,  on  white  wove  paper, 
like  the  provisionals  of  1867.  The  impres- 
sion, says  M.  Moens,  is  defective,  and  evi- 
dently from  a  worn  plate.  The  post-office, 
it  is  stated,  has  announced  its  intention  to 
issue  two  new  stamps  this  month. 

German    Empire. — Two  new  values  have 

to  be  added  to  the  existing  series. 

21  g^roschen      ")  r   l  t-  i 

~2  P  >  lio-ht  brown. 

9     kreuzer        )     ° 

The  former  is  for  the  North,  and  the  latter  for 

the  South.     These  denominations  were  very 

much  wanted,  as  they  represent  the  postal 

rate  to  the  United  States,  England,  France, 

&c,  and  have  hitherto  had  to  be  made  up  by 

employing  two  or  more  stamps. 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


187 


of    Colombia. — The   an- 
that    of 


United  States 
nexed  design  is 
the  current  anotacion 
stamp,  which  is  used  for 
letters  which  are  both  re- 
gistered and  insured.  It  is 
used  in  conjunction  with 
the  5  c.  stamp,  with  an  R  in 
the  centre,  signifying  re- 
gistered, and  is  printed  in 
black  on  white. 

Wurtemburg  has  just  issued  a  large  postal 
card,  colonr  blue,  with  a  2  kr.  envelope 
stamp,  impressed  in  orange,  on  the  right 
upper  corner,  and  also  a  reply-paid  card,  con- 
sisting (like  that  of  Holland)  of  two  leaves, 
each  with  a  2  kr.  stamp  in  orange,  but  with 
different  inscriptions. 

New  South  Wales. — M.  Moens  gives  an 
illustration,  in  his  current  number,  of  another 
odd  watermark,  said  to  exist  on  the  penny 
wrappers,  but  probably  only  an  essay.  It 
consists  of  a  kangaroo,  surmounted  by  the 
letters  a.  p  ,  face  to  face  with  an  ostrich. 

Spain. — Of  the  new  series,  the  6  and  12 
cents  de  peseta,  which  have  hardly  seen  the 
light,  are,  so  it  is  said,  to  be  suppressed ; 
and  notice  has  already  been  published  by  the 
Madrid  post-office  to  that  effect. 

Stkaits  Settlements.  —  The  Brighton 
journal  states  that  a  30  cents  stamp,  design 
similar  to  that  of  our  current  sixpenny 
brown,  is  in  preparation,  and  will  probably 
supersede  the  32  c. 

Mauritius. — The  same  authority,  rectifying 
our  own  statement,  as  well  as  that  of  Le 
rTimbre-Posie,  gives  the  following  as  the  cor- 
rect colours  of  the  new  envelopes  : — 

Tenpence  blue. 

One-and-eightpence  marone. 

Natal. — We  beg  to  refer  our  readers  to 
our  "Correspondence  "  column  for  informa- 
tion respecting  another  variety  of  the  pro- 
visional threepence. 

Hungary. — A  newspaper  wrapper,  bearing 
an  impression  in  yellow  of  the  2  kr.  adhesive, 
and  agreeing  in  all  other  respects  with  the 
Austrian  wrapper,  has  just  been  issued. 

Jamaica. — The  new  halfpenny  stamps  for 
this  island  are  printed  in  sheets  of  240,  and 
are  watermarked  cc.  and  crown. 


Austria. — The  3  kreuzer  adhesive  and  en- 
velope are  now  printed  dull  greyish-green. 

Trinidad. — The  fourpence  comes  over  of  a 
greyish  blue. 

the 
POST-OFFICE   AS   A  PROFESSION. 

PiiOM    "  THE  AMERICAN   TOST-OFFICE   GAZETTE." 

Of  all  professions,  of  all  modes  of  earning  a 
living,  farming  and  the  management  of  post- 
offices  are  the  two  oldest  in  history.  Both 
antedate  the  Christian  era  by  thousands  of 
years.  Farming  began  when  Adam  and  Eve 
commenced  their  lives  outside  the  garden  of 
Eden.  The  post-office  commenced  when 
men  began  to  gather  into  communities  and 
live  a  little  apart.  Our  earliest  profane  and 
religious  literature  mentions  the  post  as  an 
existing  fact.  Queen  Jezebel  "  wrote  letters 
in  Ahab's  name,  sealed  them  writh  his  seal, 
and  sent  the  letters  unto  the  elders  and  to 
the  nobles  in  the  city."  The  book  of  Esther 
records  that  Ahasuerus,  king  of  Persia,  dis- 
pleased at  Yashti's  disobedience,  sent  letters 
into  every  province  of  his  vast  empire. 
Xenophon  tells  us  that  Cyrus,  when  engaged 
in  his  Scythian  expedition,  "  caused  it  to  be 
tried  how  far  a  horse  could  go  in  a  day  with- 
out baiting,  and  at  that  distance  appointed 
stages  and  men,  whose  business  it  was  to 
have  horses  always  in  readiness,"  that  they 
might  carry  the  news  and  mails  he  sent 
home.  And  Herodotus  tells  us  there  were 
one  hundred  and  eleven  postal  stages,  each 
a  day's  journey,  between  Susa  and  the 
.^Egean  sea,  and  that  at  each  stage  a  large 
and  beautiful  structure  was  erected,  with 
every  convenience  for  the  transmission  of 
posts. 

But  the  difference  between  the  post  of 
heathen  and  of  Christian  times  is,  that  the 
one  was  only  employed  for  government 
purposes ;  the  other  is  open  to  every  citizen, 
however  weak,  however  poor.  The  same 
distinction  has  prevailed  even  up  to  our  own 
day.  The  mail  service  of  China  dates  back 
far  into  antiquity,  and  four  hundred  years 
ago  there  were  ten  thousand  mail  stations  in 
that  land,  but  all  for  the  use  of  government. 
Not  until  the  present  century,  and  as  a 
practice    borrowed   from   Christian   nations, 


188 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


did  China  permit  the  use  of  the  mails  to  all 
who  could  pay  the  postage. 

It  was  six  hundred  years  ago  that  the  first 
regular  mail  service  was  established  in 
Europe  by  the  Hanseatic  towns.  So  evident 
were  its  advantages,  that  Maximilian  of 
Austria  adopted  the  same  plan  throughout 
his  empire  and  Lombardy.  About  1480, 
posts  were  established  in  England  by  Edward 
IV.,  but  only  for  governmental  purposes.  It 
was  reserved  for  the  Stuarts  to  establish  a 
post-office  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  term — 
a  place  and  plan  for  the  transmission  of 
letters  at  fixed  rates,  and  open  to  all.  James 
I.  was  monarch  of  Scotland,  then  of  England, 
and  to  keep  up  the  possibility  of  correspond- 
ence between  his  two  realms,  and  to  weld 
them  into  one,  he  authorized  the  commence- 
ment of  the  mail  service  of  the  present  day. 
It  soon  became  self-supporting,  and  in  1650 
was  farmed  out  for  25,000  dollars  a  year. 
Thirty-five  years  later,  it  was  worth  325,000 
dollars  a  year.  Every  year  it  grew  and 
improved,  till  the  Duke  of  Wellington  could 
say  it  was  the  only  post-office  in  Europe  that 
did  its  work,  and  till  Lord  Macaulay  could 
call  it  "  a  splendid  triumph  of  civilization." 

The  American  post-office  is  the  child  of 
the  English,  and  equals  its  parent  in  the 
rapidity  and  safety  with  which  letters  are 
carried.  But  England  receives  a  handsome 
profit  from  the  carriage  of  letters  at  two 
cents  each,  while  the  United  States  loses  five 
millions  of  dollars  a  year  on  a  three-cent 
postage.  The  chief  difference,  or  one  of  the 
chief  differences,  between  the  two  is,  that 
England  receives  pay  for  all  the  matter 
carried  in  the  mail,  while  this  country  loses 
five  millions  a  year  under  the  franking 
privilege.  In  all  other  respects  the  postal 
rules  of  the  two  countries  are  alike. 

Massachusetts  was  the  first  colony  that 
established  a  post-office  on  this  continent. 
As  early  as  1639  the  following  notice  was 
posted  up  in  one  of  the  straggling  streets  of 
the  little  village  of  Boston  : — 

It  is  ordered  that  Richard  Fairbank,  his  house  in 
Boston,  is  the  place  appointed  for  all  letters  which  are 
brought  from  beyond  the  seas  or  are  to  be  sent  thither ; 
and  he  is  allowed  for  every  letter  one  penny,  and  must 
answer  all  miscarriages  through  his  own  neglect. 

This  constituted  the  first  penny  postage  of  the 
world. 


Eighteen  years  later  Virginia  followed  her 
sister  colony  by  passing  a  law  requiring  each 
plantation  to  provide  a  messenger  who 
should  carry  government  dispatches  ;  and  it 
shows  the  currency  then  in  use,  that  the 
penalty  for  failure  was  a  hogshead  of  tobacco. 

Boston  and  New  York  were  the  two  first 
cities  on  the  continent  to  be  wedded  by 
postal  bonds.  .  A  monthly  mail  was  es- 
tablished between  them  as  early  as  1672. 
The  advertisement  of  this  first  mail  tran- 
sportation informs  "  those  that  bee  disposed 
to  send  letters,  to  bring  them  to  the  Secre- 
tary's office,  where,  in  a  lockt  box,  they  shall 
be  preserved  till  the  messenger  calls  for 
them  ;  all  persons  paying  the  post  before  the 
box  be  sealed  up."  The  two  post-riders  that 
then  constituted  the  whole  transportation 
force  of  the  American  continent  set  out  from 
Boston  and  New  York  simultaneously,  and, 
travelling  the  whole  week,  met  at  Saybrook, 
in  Connecticut,  the  next  Saturday  night. 
Here  they  exchanged  mails  and  congratu- 
lations, and,  resting  upon  the  Sabbath,  spent 
the  next  week  in  returning  to  their  homes. 
It  was  then  considered  very  expeditious  for  a 
letter  only  to  take  fourteen  days  between 
New  York  and  Boston. 

A  post-office  was  opened  in  Philadelphia 
in  1683;  and  in  1737  Benjamin  Franklin 
was  appointed  postmaster,  and  thus  gave 
notice  of  his  appointment  in  his  own  paper, 
The  Pennsylvania  Gazette  : — 

Notice  is  hereby  given,  that  the  post-office  at  Philadel- 
phia is  now  kept  at  B.  Franklin's,  in  Market-street,  and 
that  Henry  Pratt  is  appointed  riding  master  for  all  stages 
between  Philadelphia,  Newport,  Virginia,  who  sets  out 
about  the  beginning  of  each  month,  and  returns  in 
twenty-four  days,  by  whom  gentlemen,  merchants,  and 
others  may  have  their  letters  carefully  conveyed. 

Up  to  Franklin's  time,  the  postmaster- 
general  had  been  wont  to  refuse  the  mails  to 
all  newspapers  except  his  own.  Franklin 
was  appointed  deputy  postmaster-general  in 
1753,  and  threw  open  the  mails  to  all  papers. 
He  wras  the  only  head  of  the  department  who 
in  person  visited  every  post-office  on  the 
continent.  He  greatly  increased  the  trans- 
portation of  the  mails.  Once  a  week  in 
summer,  once  a  fortnight  in  winter,  had  the 
mails  been  carried  between  New  York  and 
Philadelphia.  He  had  the  mails  carried 
three  times  a  week  between  the  two  cities. 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


189 


For  forty  years  was  Franklin  employed  in 
the  post-office  as  postmaster,  deputy  post- 
master-general, and  postmaster-general ;  and 
it  is  not  invidious  to  his  successors  to  say 
that  no  man  ever  performed  the  duties 
better.  His  ledger  still  remains  in  the  office 
of  the  sixth  auditor,  in  the  clear,  legible,  but 
slightly  tremulous  hand  of  the  philosopher, 
then  sixty-nine  years  old.  Many  other  duties 
did  Franklin  perform ;  but  the  post-office 
was  his  profession,  and  occupied  nearly  all 
his  life.  When  he  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  his  office,  there  may  have  been  forty 
persons  on  this  continent  making  the  work 
of  the  post-office  their  profession.  To-day 
there  are  between  forty  and  fifty  thousand. 
Nearly  thirty-two  thousand  of  them  are 
postmasters ;  eight  thousand  more  are  con- 
tractors ;  and  so  large  is  the  number  of 
clerks,  route  agents,-  mail  messengers,  &c, 
that  there  are  in  the  United  States  to-day 
more  than  one  thousand  persons  who  make 
the  post-office  a  profession  for  one  that  lived 
by  it  when  Franklin  was  first  appointed. 

PAPERS  FOR  BEGINNERS.— No.  XXIII. 

BY   OVERY  TAYLOR. 

ETTKOPE, 

Jixixntc. 

In  1860  fresh  facilities  for  the  transmission 
of  printed  matter  were  accorded  to  the 
public  by  the  redaction  of  the  rate  for  circu- 
lars to  one  centime  for  every  five  grammes. 
This  led  to  the  issue  of  the  one  centime  stamp, 
olive-green,  in  November  of  that  year,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  80  c.  made  its  appearance 
in  rose,  and  the  5  c.  in  light  green. 

Up  to  this  time  no  steps  had  been  taken 
to  adopt  the  English  system  of  perforation, 
which  had  been  in  operation  for  several 
years,  and  had  already  found  favour  in  other 
countries.  In  1861,  however,  a  Paris  house, 
that  of  Messrs.  Susse  freres,  pointedly  in- 
dicated to  the  government  the  course  to  be 
taken,  by  setting  up  a  perforating  machine 
of  its  own.  It  was  originally  stated  that 
Messrs.  Susse  merely  used  the  machine  to 
perforate  the  stamps  which  they  sold  over 
their  own  counter,  but,  according  to  Dr. 
Magnus,  they  also  perforated  the  supplies 
of    many    of  the  ordinary    stamp  retailers, 


with  whom  the  invention  became  popular, 
owing  to  the  time  it  saved  in  separating  the 
stamps.  All  the  six  values  then  current, 
viz.,  the  1  c,  5  c,  10  c,  20  c,  40  c,  and  80  c, 
exist  with  the  Susse  perforations  (which  are 
very  large  and  coarse),  but  specimens  are  now 
with  difficulty  obtained. 

Shortly  after  Messrs.  Susse's  machine 
had  commenced  working,  the  government, 
according  to  some  authorities,  issued  a  cer- 
tain number  of  sheets  of  the  six  values  line- 
jpierced  (that  is  to  say,  pierced  with  a  series 
of  short  slits),  and  the  same  were  put  on 
sale  in  two  of  the  Parisian  post-offices  and  in 
several  of  the  departments,  but  were  soon 
withdrawn,  the  patentee  of  the  perforating 
machine  having  threatened  to  commence  an 
action  against  the  administration  for  illegal 
imitation  of  his  process.*  Negotiations 
were  then  entered  into  with  him,  and  in  1862 
the  entire  series  made  its  appearance  offi- 
cially perforated.  According  to  M.  Moens, 
however,  the  line-pierced  stamps  were  as 
much  the  fruit  of  private  enterprise  as  the 
Susse  series. f 

The  issue  of  the  perforated  stamps  did  not 
give  rise  to  any  noticeable  change  in  colour, 
and  it  is  worthy  of  passing  observation,  that 
this  is  the  only  occasion  on  which  an  entire 
French  series  has  appeared  simultaneously. 

The  reduction,  already  adverted  to,  in  the 
rates  for  circulars  and  printed  matter  neces- 
sitated the  issue  of  two  fresh  values,  and 
advantage  was  taken  of  the  opportunity  thus 
afforded  to  create  a  fresh  type.  The  em- 
peror's successes  in  Italy  and  Mexico  had 
given  him  the  right  to  grace  his  brow  with  a 
wreath  of  laurels,  and  this  he  figuratively 
did  on  the  new  stamps,  as  well  as  on  the  new 
coinage.  The  two  centimes 
red-brown,  with  laureated 
profile,  made  its  appearance 
on  the  1st  January,  1863, 
and  the  4  c.  lavender,  of  the 
same  type,  on  the  following 
12th  of  September.  The 
execution  of  both  stamps  is 
faultless,  and  the  portrait  of 
the   emperor  a   good  one.       In    the    design 

*  See  Le  Timbre- Poste,  \o\.  v.,  p.  5. 
_  t  Maury  says  nothing  decisive  on  the  point,  and  Mahe 
simply  chronicles  the  emission  without  comment. 


190 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S   MAGAZINE. 


utility  was  consulted  even  before  elegance, 
a  bold  figure  of  value  being  placed  in  each 
of  the  lower  angles,  and  the  word  Frangais, 
abbreviated  in  the  previous  emissions,  is  here 
written  at  full  length.. 

These  two  stamps,  the  two  and  the  four 
centimes,  have  continued  in  use  almost  down 
to  the  present  time,  and  that  without  any 
substantial  alteration,  though  certain  differ- 
ences in  shade  may  be  noticed.  The  4  c. 
is  found  in  a  deep  grey,  and  the  2  c.  varies 
from  light  to  dark  ;  the  design  also  on  the 
later-printed  supplies  shows  some  traces  of 
wear. 

From  1863  we  take  a  leap  to  180 7,  notic- 
ing, however,  in  passing,  the  strange  on  cllt- 
published  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Belgian 
journal,  to  the  effect  that  it  wTas  in  contem- 
plation to  issue  a  20  centime  adhesive  with 
a  microscopic  view  of  Puebla  in  the  centre, 
surmounted  by  a  soaring  eagle  !  It  was  in- 
deed fortunate  that  this  absurd  project,  if  ever 
really  entertained,  was  abandoned.  Stamps 
may  well  be  employed  to  illustrate  memorable 
events  which  have  long  been  embalmed  in 
a  nation's  history,  but  it  wrould  be  great 
temerity  to  render  them  souvenirs  of  con- 
temporary doings,  of  which  to-morrow's  oc- 
currence may  totally  change  the  value  or 
significance.  To  resume  :  in  1867  the  four 
values  used  for  the  prepayment  of  letters, 
viz.,  10  c,  20  c,  40  c,  and  80  c.  were  issued 
profile  and  with  empjre 
and  a  fifth  value  was  added, 
chocolate,  intended  for  cor- 
respondence with  Belgium 
and  Switzerland,  with 
which  countries  postal 
treaties  guaranteeing  lower 
rates  had  just  been  con- 
cluded. The  colours  of 
this  series  are  bright  and 
effective,  excepting  only 
that  of  the  10  centimes, 
which  value  (it  must  also  be  observed)  is 
found  in  several  shades,  from  pale  to  brown- 
ish cinnamon.  The  design  is  a  fuller  one 
than  that  of  the  previous  type,  and  is  all  the 
handsomer  for  the  broader  borders  and  more 
legible  inscriptions.  The  SO  centimes  with 
ground  of  horizontal  lines  has  been  chroni- 
cled as  a  variety,  but,  as  many  (and  I  among 


with  laureated 
Fu'AXCais  in  full  ; 
the  30  centimes 


the  number)  think,  in  error.  It  is  true  that 
the  later  printed  specimens  show  this  ground, 
but  I  believe  it  always  existed  and  that  it  has 
only  become  visible  from  some  change  in  the 
mode  of  impression  or  from  the  deterioration 
of  the  die.  The  seven  values  (2  c,  4  c,  10  c, 
20  c,  30  c,  40  c,  and  80  c)  made  their  appear- 
ance about  the  end  of  1869  wiper/orated,  but 
specimens  are  now  scarce. 

In  November,  1869,  appeared  also  the  long 
expected  five-franc  stamp,  of  which  an  en- 
graving is  an- 


nexed. 


/T^j-vn/^nrrrTrTj-Lru-irTj-u-u-irir^rTi 


things 


-ruT-?  \j~>_'T_r>_r-n 


Great  b 
were  5 
expected  of  c 
the  engraver,  £ 
M.  Barre,  but  u 
although  the  ^ 
execution  was  £ 
characterised 
by  all  his  usual  delicacy,  the  design  itself — 
copied  in  the  main  from  that  of  the  bill- 
stamps — proved  a  great  disappointment.  As 
was  justly  observed,  but  for  the  word  timbre- 
poste  the  stamp  might  well  have  been  taken 
for  a  revenue  label.  The  colour  of  this  truly 
valuable  stamp  is  mauve;  the  figure  5  and 
letter  f  are  said  to  be  in  violet-blue,  but  this 
I  cannot  perceive.  That  these  signs  were 
impressed  after  the  rest  of  the  stamp  had 
been  printed  is  evident,  as  the  ground-work 
runs  across  them. 

The  list  of  imperial  postage  stamps  proper 
closes  with  the  1  centime  laureated,  olive- 
green,  which  wTas  issued  in  May,  1870,  and 
is  still  in  partial  use.  The  chiffres-taxe  and 
journal  stamps  remain  to  be  treated  of  sepa- 
rated, and  some  notice  will  be  necessary  of 
the  rejected  envelope  designs.  To  fid  in 
these  details,  and  retrace  the  history  of  the 
French  post-office  during  and  since  the  late 
war,  will  be  my  task  in  the  next  paper. 

THE  PLEASANT  SHADE  POST-OFFICE. 

BY   C.    H.    COSTER. 

Ix  the  course  of  my  recent  letters  on  the 
Petersburg  stamp,  I  attempted  to  throw 
some  light  on  the  history  of  the  very  similar 
label  issued  by  the  Pleasant  Shade  post-office. 
Since  then,  I  have  made  the  subject  one  of 
special  research,  and  aided  by  correspondence 


THE   STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


191 


furnished  by  Dr.  Petrie,  to  whom  my  thanks 
are  due,  I  am  enabled  to  present  the  following 
history  of  the  office  in  question.  In  the 
course  of  my  investigations,  I  have  found 
that  the  information  furnished  by  a  stupid 
official,  and  stated  by  him  to  consist  of  extracts 
from  post-office  directories — as  to  where 
Pleasant  Shade  existed,  &c. — is  by  no  means 
as  accurate  as  could  be  desired.  I  therefore 
deem  it  better  to  take  up  the  matter  from 
the  commencement,  and  I  would  say  that  I 
have  taken  pains  to  verify  all  the  statements 
herein  given,  so  that  they  may  be  relied 
upon  as  correct  and  accurate  in  every  par- 
ticular. 

Pleasant  Shade  is  situated  in  Greensville 
County  (not  Brunswick  County),  Virginia, 
not  far  from  Hicksford,  which  is  the  county 
town.  The  post-office  was  first  opened  in  or 
about  1859,  with  R.  E.  Davis  as  postmaster. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  it,  in 
common  with  all  the  other  offices  in  the  Con- 
federacy, was  "suspended,"  and  as  such  it 
appears  in  the  post-office  directories  of  that 
period.  "After  this  cruel  war  was  over,"  it 
remained  closed  until  1870,  for  in  the 
directory  of  that  year,  I  find  it  among  the 
list  of  "  Post-Offices  established  from  August 
1st,  1870,  to  January  1st,  1871."  Since  then 
it  has  been  in  active  operation.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  Mr.  Davis,  in  his  letter  copied 
below,  gives  the  date  of  the  reopening  as 
March,  1871.  The  discrepancy  of  a  few 
months  between  this  date  and  that  given  in 
the  director^-,  can  only  be  accounted  for  by 
supposing  that,  although  the  Washington 
authorities  decided,  in  the  latter  part  of  1870, 
to  reopeu  the  office,  they  did  not  put  their 
decision  into  effect  until  March,  1871. 

With  respect  to  the  stamp  issued  by  Mr. 
Davis  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  I 
append  a  letter  from  him  addressed  to  Mr. 
Scott. 

[Copy.] 

Brunswick  Co.,  Ya., 

February  5,  1869. 
Mr.  J.  TT.  Scott,  New  York  City. 

Dear  Sir, — In  answer  to  yours  of  recent  date,  in  regard 
to  postage  stamps,  &c,  I  beg  to  say  that  I  was  postmaster 
at  Pleasant  Shade  before  the  war,  but  hare  no  stamps  on 


hand  now 


Very  respectfully,  &c, 

(Signed),  R.  E.  DAYIS. 


Th?  envelope  enclosing  the  above  is  post- 


marked "  Smoky  Ordinary,"  Feb.  12.  On 
reference  to  the  map,  I  find  that  place  in 
Brunswick  County. 

No  doubts  were  entertained  here  as  to  the 
character  of  the  stamp  bearing  Mr.  Davis's 
name,  until  The  Philatelical  Journal  for  April 
last  questioned  very  strongly  the  possibility 
of  such  a  place  as  Pleasant  Shade  having  ever 
existed.  On  receipt  of  that  magazine,  Dr. 
Petrie  wrote  to  the  postmaster  at  Hicksford, 
from  whom  he  received  the  following  reply. 
[Copy] 

Hicksford,  May  21,  1872. 
Dr.  J.  A.  Petrie. 

_  Ser,—  Your  letter  of  inquiry  after  Pleasant  Shade  and 
its  former  postmaster,  R.  E.  Davis,  is  received,  and  lies 
before  me.  In  reply,  I  inform  you  that  Pleasant  Shade  is 
a  country  store,  with  the  post-office  kept  in  it.  It  was 
closed  during  thenar,  but  reopened  in  1871,  with  Miss 
Eliza  Mills  as  postmistress.  R.  E.  Davis  is  living  within 
a  short  distance  of  Pleasant  Shade,  has  a  familv,  and  is 
farming  in  a  small  way. 

Yerv  respectfullv  vours, 

(Signed),  S.  J.  JiKOWNE,  Postmaster. 

This  letter  was  apparently  written  by  a  lady. 
_  Upon  receipt  of  the  above,  Dr.  Petrie  put 
himself  in  communication  with  Mr.  Davis, 
and  in  reply  to  a  letter  sent  him,  asking 
for  full  particulars  as  to  the  stamp,  of  which 
Dr.  Petrie  enclosed  a,  facsimile,  cut  from  The 
Stamp-Collector's  Guide,  received  a  reply  as 
under  : — 

[Copy.] 

Pleasant  Shade  Post-office, 

Greensville  Co.,  Ya., 
June  21st.,  1872. 
Dr.  J.  A.  Petrie. 

Dear  Sir,— Yours  of  the  3rd  inst—  making  inquiries 
in  regard  to  the  postage  stamp  I  issued  and  used  at  this 
office  during  the  war,  &c— came  to  hand  a  few  days  ago, 
and  I  will  answer  all  your  questions  as  well  as  I  can, 
under  the  circumstances,  which  I  will  have  to  do  from 
memory  altogether,  as  I  have  lost  all  of  my  post-office 
books  and  papers.  I  have  read  the  magazine  you  sent 
also,  and  notice  the  pieces  marked  by  you  ;  and  in  reply 
to  all  of  them  I  would  say,  whether  Pleasant  Shade  was  a 
city  or  "Hill"  Shade,  there  certainly  was  a  stamp  issued 
expressly  for  that  office  during  the  war. 

Now  for  your  questions  : 

Pleasant  Shade  post-office  was  opened  during  1859.  I 
do  not  remember  the  month. 

/  was  the^-s^  postmaster,  and  continued  to  the  close  of 
the  war,  I  think,  -when  the  office  was  closed,  and  remained 
so  until  March,  1871,  when  it  was  reopened,  and  Miss 
Eliza  Milis  appointed  postmistress. 

I  did  issue  a  postage  stamp  while  postmaster  under  the 
Confederate  Government,  but  not  like  the  one  you  enclose  ; 
my  stamp  was  about  the  same  as  Petersburg  stamp  No.  1, 
mentioned  and  described  on  page  58  of  Ihe  Philatelical 
Journal  you  sent  me ;  only  the  colour  of  mine  (the  Pleasant 
Shade  stamp)  was  blue. 


192 


THE  STAMP-COLLECTOR'S  MAGAZINE. 


I  think  I  had  several  hundred  printed.  I  do  not 
remember  the  number  exactly. 

I  had  none  but  5  c. 

They  were  printed  by  Messrs.  A.  F.  Crutchfield  &  Co., 
of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  who  edited  The  Daily  Express. 
I  have  lost  the  bill,  and  do  not  remember  what  they  cost. 

I  have  not  the  die  from  which  the  stamps  were  printed. 
I  have  not  any  of  the  old  stamps  in  my  possession,  and 
cannot  get  any  ;  for  it  seems  that  every  one  has  been 
destroyed.  I  have  no  Confederate  stamps,  and  do  not 
know  where  I  could  find  any. 

Hoping  tbat  this  will  answer  your  purposes,  I  beg  to 
subscribe  myself 

Yerv  truly  yours  obedientlv, 

(Signed),  E.  E.  DAVIS. 

I  may  mention  that  Mr.  Young,  in  his 
letter  to  me,  said  that  the  printer  of  the 
Pleasant  Shade  stamp  was  a  Mr.  Campbell, 
foreman  to  the  proprietors  of  The  Daily 
Express. 

After  considering  the  different  sonrces 
from  which  the  above  information  is  collected, 
and  yet  how  entirely  it  agrees  in  every 
particular,  I  think  all  collectors  will  agree 
with  me,  that  there  is  no  longer  any  reason 
for  doubting  the  genuine  character  of  the 
Pleasant  Shade  stamp. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

ANOTHER  VAEIETT  OF  THE  THREEPENCE 
NATAL. 

To  the  Editor  of  "Tut.  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Sir, — Your  readers  may  like  to  know  that  a  new  variety 
of  the  3d.  Natal  has  just  made  its  appearance.  The 
stamp  is  a  bright  mauve  colour,  with  postage  printed  on 
both  sides  in  red  ink.  This  makes  the  sixth  variety  of  the 
threepenny. 

By  inserting  this  in  the  next  number  of  your  valuable 
magazine,  you  will  oblige. 

Tours  faithfullv, 

"PHILIP  F.  PATN. 

Durban,  Natal,  South  Africa. 


THE  T.  B.  MOKTON  POSTAGE   STAMPS. 
To  the  Editor  of"  The  Stamp-Collector's  Magazine." 

Dear  Sir, — My  silence  ere  this  has  probably  caused 
some  anxiety  to  philatelists,  possessors  of  T.  B.  Morton 
&  Co.'s  stamps,  who  have  read  M.  Moens'  insinuations 
against  the  same.  I  should  have  written  to  you  long 
since,  had  it  not  been  for  a  sudden  absence,  which  has 
kept  me  away  for  nearly  a  couple  of  months. 

I  was  much  surprised  on  reading,  in  The  Philatelical 
Journal  for  April,  that  the  editor  of  Le  Timbre -Poste 
hoped  to  prove,  in  the  following  month's  number,  that  all 
the  authentic  information  furnished  by  me  to  The 
& 'tamp-  Collector' 's  Magazine  and  The  Philatelical  Journal 
was  a  pure  invention  of  mine.  Such  a  malevolent  re- 
port has  certainly  no  power  to  injure  my  reputation,  and 
1  am  glad  to  see  that  during  my  absence  you  have  already, 
in  your  June  magazine,  analysed  M.  Moens'  chimerical 
documentary  evidence.    I  need"  hardly  add  that  I  am  ready 


to  prove  its  exaggerated  character  at  any  time,  by  pro- 
ducing copies  of  all  ray  correspondence  with  the  editor  of 
your  Brussels  contemporary,  regarding  the  T.  B.  Morton 
&  Co.'s  stamps. 

In  the  meantime  I  may  as  well  call  your  attention  to  a 
fact  which  forms,  I  think,  a  most  curious  feature  of  this 
discussion,  and  which  I  leave  to  M.  Moens  to  explain; 
that  is,  that  while  M.  Moens  closed  the  article  above. re- 
ferred to  with  a  warning  to  philatelists  against  emissions 
from  Constantinople  {garde  aux  emissions  de  Con- 
stantinople), he  himself,  in  the  month  of  July,  accepts 
the  amount  of  subscription  to  his  paper  in  T.  B.  M. 
&  Co.'s  journal  stamps  of  the  last  emission  !  These  I  pur- 
posely remitted  to  him  in  order  to  test  his  own  belief  in 
what  he  had  written,  and  also  in  order  to  read  for  myself 
the  condemnation  of  the  most  unquestionably  authentic 
T.  B.  Morton  &  Co.'s  stamps,  an  entire  series  of  which 
is  to  be  found  in  the  archives  of  Her  Britannic  Ma- 
jesty's General  Dost  Office,  having  been  officially  obtained 
from  the  company. 

Under  these  circumstances  all  further  comment  in  then- 
favour  I  consider  useless ;  and,  in  conclusion,  allow  me 
to  avow  that  I  would  not  compliment  the  subscribers  of 
Le  Timbre-Doste,  if  all  the  philatelical  news  reported 
therein  be  of  equal  accuracy. 

I  remain,  dear  Sir, 
Tours  truly, 

Constantinople.  A.  B.  PANOPOULO. 

ANSWERS  TO   CORRESPONDENTS. 

H.  0.— We  are  obliged  for  your  communication  re  the 
North  German  stamps. 

G.  H.  H.,  Timperley. — A  private  opinion  on  the 
Mulready  design  is  hardly  a  quotable  thing. 

B.  T.,  Liverpool.  —  We  cannot  explain  the  scarcity  of 
the  one  cent  Nicaragua  ;  that  it  is  in  circulation  appears 
to  be  certain. 

J.  C,  Moorestown,  N.  J.— We  cannot  explain  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  postmark  on  a 
Canadian  stamp. 

Perseveranza,  Notting  Hill. — Tour  perforated  Ja- 
panese is  genuine.  The  issue  of  a  perforated  series  was 
duly  noticed  in  these  columns  a  short  time  since. 

N.  S.  Torr,  Chester.— The  stamps  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada  are  now  used  in  British  Columbia  ;  the  emissions 
of  the  latter  colony  are  consequently  obsolete. 

P.  G.  S.,  Oxford.— It  is  not  probable  that  the  accession 
to  the  throne  of  Sweden  of  the  late  king's  brother  will 
lead  to  the  issue  of  a  fresh  series  of  either  Swedish  or 
Norwegian  stamps. 

E.  H.  L.,  Greenock. — Tour  Tasmanian  stamp  is  one  of 
the  well-known  series,  and  your  specimen  has  no  special 
value. — The  l|d.  English  stamp  was  issued  last  spring, 
and  the  emission  was  at  once  noticed  in  these  pages. 

H.  S.  J.  H.,  Truro. — "We  have  to  thank  this  corres- 
pondent for  sending  us  a  paragraph  from  the  Western 
Morning  News  treating  of  the  Belgian  stamps,  but  as  the 
facts  it  contains  are  known  to  all  collectors,  its  repro- 
duction would  not  be  useful. 

X.  P.  Eiexce,  Norwich. — The  Koman  stamps,  we  be- 
lieve, are  now  obsolete.  The  French  stamps  are  used  in 
Monaco.  —  The  Canadian  Philatelist  is  published  at 
Quebec. — All  the  values  of  the  German  series  have  ap- 
peared with  the  enlarged  eagle. 

Novice,  Darlington. — Tour  stamps  Nos  1,  4,  7,  8  and 
13  to  19  are  forgeries;  the  rest  are  genuine,  your  New 
Zealand  twopence  brown  is  not  a  changeling,  but  a  new 
emission.  — The  Permanent  Album  does  not  contain  space 
for  revenue  stamps ;  Lallier's  does. 


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